Surprise!
by ALittleBitofEverything101
Summary: There are surprises around every corner. Takes place during Shadow Kissed. The attack on the school never happened
1. Chapter 1

***DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN VAMPIRE ACADEMY… ALTHOUGH I WOULDN'T MIND OWNING DIMITRI… IT'S ALL RICHELLE MEAD***

I looked up into his chocolate brown eyes and feelings of contentment and love swept over me. I was truly happy. It's been two weeks since we gave into our love in the cabin and while Dimitri refuses to sleep with me again until after graduation, he doesn't completely limit our physical contact. I lifted my head, and his lips met mine half-way. I could feel himself losing himself in the kiss and I pressed my advantage. I unbuttoned the top two buttons of his shirt. I could feel his hand spreading up my stomach, then he froze and pulled away.

"Two months Roza. That's not that long," Dimitri reminded me.

"Feels like forever," I muttered under my breath. I leaned up to kiss him again.

Our lips touched briefly, but then Dimitri pulled away and chuckled lightly. "I have duty and you have class. We need to go," he reminded me.

I sighed. I hated it when he was right, but sadly he was. He pulled me close to him, getting in one final kiss until we returned to our student-mentor roles. Our arrangement kind of sucks, but at the same time, it doesn't. Not at all. Dimitri told me his original plan was to stay away from me until after graduation. Well we tried that for a couple of days. It ended up creating sexual tension that was not only obvious to us, but we were afraid it would be obvious to other students or guardians. He suggested we try to avoid each other which I immediately shot down. So we have resorted to sneaking out to the cabin twice a week. Even though we aren't having sex, spending the night wrapped in his arms was amazing.

We walked out of the cabin, taking advantage of the trees as we held hands. He squeezed my hand and then he walked off in the opposite direction of me. I knew he was heading to the guardian office. I headed off toward the novices' dorms. I sighed happily. I headed off to my first class.

Hours later, I went back to my dorm and instantly fell asleep exhausted.

I woke up to wild emotions, unable to figure out what was going on. Lissa's emotions were all over the place. I quickly got dressed and put on shoes. Normally, I would have just gone over to Lissa's dorm and barged in there, but it was noon which was the middle of the night for Moroi. I ran up to Dimitri's room, knocking lightly on his door.

He opened his door. He was standing there shirtless, only wearing pajama pants. When he saw it was me, love and confusion lit up his features. "Rose, what's wrong?" He asked me.

I admired his bare chest for another moment before answering, "I need you to get me into the Moroi dorm, something's wrong with Lissa."

He was up in seconds, pulling on a shirt. He led the way to the Moroi dorms. I sensed in the bond that Lissa was in the bathroom. With a quick look from me, he knew I wanted him to stay out in the hallway and I entered the bathroom.

_Please don't let her have cut herself again, please!_ I begged in my head.

"Liss?" I called out quietly.

"Over here." She called to me.

I found her sitting in the stall, tears streaking down her cheek.

"Liss what's wrong?" I asked her concerned.

For the first time, I realized she was holding something. She handed it to me. That's not what I was expecting.


	2. Chapter 2

***DISCLAIMER I DO NOT OWN VAMPIRE ACADEMY. RICHELLE MEAD DOES!***

_For the first time, I realized she was holding something. She handed it to me. That's not what I was expecting._

Chapter 2

I just stared. And stared. And stared. I couldn't believe my eyes. "Does Christian know?" I finally asked.

She looked at me and shook her head. "Rose what am I going to do?" She sobbed.

"You have to go see Dr. Olendzki!" I told her gently.

"Rose I can't! If this gets out…" Lissa trailed off.

"It won't. We're two months from graduation. No one needs to know."

Liss shook her head stubbornly.

"Liss this is beyond what either of us can handle on our own. You're going to have a baby! You need to start taking care of it now! This is serious. No one needs to know… Well except for Christian."

"He's going to hate me."

"He's not going to hate you, Lissa. He's loves you. And it's not like you're the only one at fault here. His sperm are half to blame."

"I can't Rose…. I just can't…" She cried.

Dimitri knocked on the door and then entered. I had forgotten he was out there the moment I saw the pregnancy. Now I realized the volume we had been talking at. I saw from his face that he had heard everything. I shot him a look not to say anything but he ignored me.

"Princess… I know you're scared, but Rose is right. You need to go see the doctor so you can start properly taking care of the baby. No matter how scared you are, you don't want any harm to come to the baby. Every child is a miracle, regardless of how old you are when they are born." Dimitri said. Several emotions flitted across his face. One of them surprised me. He looked upset and wistful.

I wish this was something I could give him, but it was impossible for me to ever give him the family he wanted. I looked back at Lissa so I wouldn't have to look at him.

She didn't know about me and Dimitri, but I could see that she recognized his emotions. "You're right." She said softly.

She paused for several moments, then took a deep breath. "I'll go to the clinic," she said determinedly.

I looked at her and felt what she wanted more than anything through the bond.

"Comrade," I said turning back to Dimitri. "I think there's one stop we need to make."

He looked up at me confused.

I looked at Lissa. "Christian deserves to know about this. And despite how scared you are, I know he is going to support you in this."

Lissa looked back at me terrified, but finally she nodded. "Let's go see Christian…" She said very quietly.


	3. Chapter 3

***DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN VAMPIRE ACADEMY. RICHELLE MEAD DOES***

_Lissa looked back at me terrified, but finally she nodded. "Let's go see Christian…" She said very quietly._

Chapter 3

We stood outside of Christian's dorm. Or rather me and Dimitri stood, Lissa was frantically pacing.

"I don't know what to say. How do I tell him something like this?" Lissa asked.

"Just be honest with him, princess. Me and Rose will be right out here, waiting for you if you need us. We could even go in with you if you wanted." Dimitri said gently. Lissa had asked us to let her talk to him alone, and I could see how uncomfortable it made him.

Lissa shook her head. "I want to… No I have to do this on my own." She mustered up all of her courage and knocked on Christian's door."

The seconds seemed to drag on forever as we heard his footsteps getting closer to the door. He opened the door, a look of anger on his face which vanished the second he saw Lissa's face.

"Liss, what's wrong?" He asked, his face filled with concern.

"Can… Can I come in?" Lissa asked. Christian nodded. He stepped aside so she could enter and looked at us expectantly.

"No can do. We're going to be right out here." I told him.

He looked surprised, but didn't argue. He closed the door.

I turned to Dimitri. I wasn't one to hold back when I have a question, and this was no exception. "Does it make you sad?" I asked him.

"I mean she's a little young for a baby…" Dimitri trailed off.

"That's not what I meant and you know it," I said to him harshly. "Do you regret that you have to give up kids to be with me?" I asked him quietly.

He looked at me shocked. "Roza, I wouldn't trade a thousand kids for you." He pulled me against him. And despite the fact that we were in public in broad daylight, he brought his lips to mine.

"But I can see it. You want a kid. You could have a kid. There are probably dozens of Moroi that would be willing. We already know Tasha is…" I trailed off, I couldn't look at him.

"Roza… Rose look at me." He ordered. I looked up at him. "I don't want to have kids with Tasha or any Moroi. Because I don't love Tasha or any Moroi. I love you Roza, and I wouldn't change that for anything." Looking in his brown eyes left no room for doubt. He was telling the truth. He thought giving up kids was worth it.

I only could hope that he wouldn't start to resent me for it.

I felt a sudden spark of happiness from the bond that pulled me into Lissa's head. While I was in Lissa's head, I knew my body must be staring at Dimitri, mouth agape. I pushed myself out of Lissa's head. Dimitri was looking at me concerned. "Rose what is it? What's wrong?" He asked.

"Nothing is wrong. Just another surprise." I looked at him. I wasn't going to tell him. I was going to let Liss tell us when she was ready.


	4. Chapter 4

***DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN VAMPIRE ACADEMY. RICHELLE MEAD DOES***

"_Nothing is wrong. Just another surprise." I looked at him. I wasn't going to tell him. I was going to let Liss tell us when she was ready._

Chapter 4

Just then the door to Christian's dorm opened and out stepped a very pink and happy Lissa and an equally happy Christian.

"Ready?" I asked her.

Christian took her hand. "We're ready." They said together.

We made our way to the clinic.

Dr. Olendzki was very understanding, not once yelling at them for having sex at such a young age. She left the room to call a Moroi OBGYN that wasn't too far from the Academy, only a little over an hour.

When she returned, she said to Lissa, "You have an appointment later today at 10 pm." I glanced at my watch. It was already 3 pm.

"But I have class!" Lissa exclaimed shocked. That's Lissa. School comes first.

"Honestly Liss, I think you're entitled to a sick day, especially given the circumstances," I said before the doctor could say anything.

She sighed. She knew I was right. The doctor looked at Dimitri. "Do you know any guardians off duty that would be able to take her to the doctors?" She asked him.

I knew Lissa wouldn't be comfortable with anyone taking her to the doctors. She doesn't want more people to know then the ones that have to. Dimitri looked at Lissa. "I probably could change shifts with an off-duty guardian to take her," Dimitri said. Lissa looked at him gratefully.

Lissa turned back to the doctor. "Can Christian come with me?" She asked nervously.

Dr. Olendzki sighed. "I don't know… He…" she started to say.

Lissa interrupted. "He deserves to be there," she asserted.

The doctor just nodded. "Very well he may go. When you two get back we are going to have to talk to Headmistress Kirova."

Lissa paled considerably and nodded.

"You may go. I will contact the guardians and tell them that guardian Belikov will be escorted you two out of the Academy at 8:30 for medical reasons." Dr. Olendzki said.

Christian and Lissa told us they were going to head back to their dorms. I was sure by their dorms they meant Christian's dorm, but I didn't say anything. To my surprise Dimitri didn't either. "I'll see you in a couple of hours." Dimitri said. Then he started to walk me back to my dorm. I felt a sudden wave of nausea hit me. I sprinted for the bathroom as fast as I could, with Dimitri on my heels. He held my hair as I vomited.

He didn't listen to me when I told him to leave. I went to the sink to wash out my hands. When I turned around, he was right there. He kissed my forehead and said, "She's not the only one that's entitled to a sick day."

"I feel fine now." I told him. "Unless I can go with you and Lissa?" I looked at him hopefully.

He grinned lightly and shook his head. "I am not authorized to let you leave campus," he explained.

"I could hide in the trunk," I suggested.

He just shook his head. We were outside my dorm now. "Feel better Roza, I'll check on you in the morning." He kissed my forehead and walked away.


	5. Chapter 5

***DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN VAMPIRE ACADEMY. RICHELLE MEAD DOES***

Chapter 5

It's been several weeks since Lissa found out she was pregnant and I've never seen her happier. Graduation was only two weeks away and novices were spending every waking minute preparing for their trials. I was an exception. I was fully taking advantage of the fact that it was now acceptable to seek out Dimitri's company. Everyone just assumed I was asking him about the trials.

I was in his room, sitting on his bed when Lissa sent me a message through the bond.

I grimaced and he looked at me concerned. "Lissa needs me," I explained to him. He looked so sad. "But I'm sure she could wait a couple more minutes," I told him, leaning closer to him. I pressed my lips to his. It was a gentle and sweet kiss that he broke before it could pick up in intensity.

"You need to go to Lissa," he told me gently.

"One more minute," I argued, pressing my lips to his once more.

He broke apart and laughed. "No, now!" He said with authority.

I sighed and looked at him grumpily. Suddenly I had an idea. "Come with me," I said excitedly.

"What?" he asked surprised.

"Lissa won't mind. And we could tell her we are going to go practice for my trials afterwards," I told him.

He looked at me. "We probably should practice for your trials afterwards," he suggested.

I sighed. I knew he was right. "Fine comrade."

We got up and left his room. We made our way over to Lissa's room. When I knocked on the door, she opened it, practically jumping up and down. Christian was sitting on her bed. Lissa looked surprised to see Dimitri but she didn't say anything.

"Why hello Rosie," Christian said tauntingly.

"Call me Rosie again and you will not like the consequences," I told him threateningly.

"Oh I'm absolutely shaking. Simply quivering with fear," Christian joked

"Good you should be. I could cause all sorts of harm to you," I told him happily.

"Rose you're the only one I know that becomes happy at the thought of hurting someone," he said shaking his head.

Christian and I had a complicated relationship. We were just too alike. Even though we would never admit it, we really did care a lot about each other. We just liked to banter and insult one another as well.

Lissa jumped up and started pacing. I looked at her.

"Whatsup Liss?"

She paused and then continued pacing. Then she sat back down on the bed.

I sat down in the chair by her desk. I knew she would tell me what it was eventually. I sat there calmly and waited.

"Rose I…" she paused and started crying.

In an instant I was up and at her side. "Liss what's wrong? What is it?" I asked her panicked. I felt tears spring into my eyes too. Weird. "Is it the baby? Is something wrong? Liss talk to me!"

"No nothing's wrong with the baby." She replied.

"Then what is it? What's wrong?" I demanded.

She looked at me and smiled, "nothing's wrong. Something is right!"

I looked at her expectantly.

"Rose I have some really good news…" She began.


	6. Chapter 6

***DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN VAMPIRE ACADEMY. RICHELLE MEAD DOES***

"_Rose I have some really good news…" She began._

Chapter 6

I knew what she was going to tell me, but I didn't want her to know I knew. I didn't mean to, but I was sucked into her head the night she found out she was pregnant. I tried to keep my face blank.

Dimitri looked at her, "Did you find out the sex of the baby? I thought it would be too soon for that." He asked her curiously.

"No. I don't find out the baby's sex for another month and a half."

Trying to play along, I asked, "So what's the big news Liss?"

"Christian asked me to marry him!" Lissa blurted out before she could change her mind. I saw the ring on her finger. So that's why she waited so long to tell us, he probably just re-asked her officially. I saw through the bond that I was right.

A big smile spread across my face. "Congrats, Liss," I gave her a big hug. "I'm so happy for you!"

"Congratulations Princess, Mr. Ozera." Dimitri said formally.

"We're going to wait until after the baby is born, because I'll be showing in a little while and I don't want to look huge on my wedding day." She explained.

"That's understandable…" Suddenly I paused. "Liss what are you going to do about Lehigh?"

She burst into tears.

"Oh I'm sorry Liss, I didn't mean to upset you." I walked over to her and put my hand on her shoulder.

"It's not you. It's these damn hormones." She explained. "I'm just not going to be a full time student, so I can give as much attention to our baby as possible. But, I also don't want to get too far behind in my schooling," she admitted sheepishly. "I just hope I can do it all."

"I'm sure everything will work out perfectly!" I reassured her.

She sighed. "I hope so." I suddenly noticed how exhausted Lissa looked.

"Geez Liss, have you even been sleeping?" I asked her concerned.

She nodded, "It's the baby. It makes me tired all the time. Like I don't have energy."

"Is that normal?" I asked her.

"Oh yes. I asked the doctor," she explained to me.

I nodded, relieved. "Well I'm going to let you two get some rest." I told her.

She nodded. "I'll see you later Rose." She smiled at me.

Dimitri and I made our way over to the gym. I envied Lissa and Christian. Marriage. It was something I never gave much thought to. I realized it wouldn't be practical for us to ever get married, but suddenly I wished that could be my life. I wished I could have children and get married to Dimitri. Suddenly the life of a guardian felt like too much to sacrifice.

Dimitri looked at me. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing," I told him. I should have known better. He knows me too well to fall for something like that.

"Roza," he warned.

I sighed. "It's really nothing. Just thinking about Lissa and Christian getting married." It wasn't a lie, exactly. It just wasn't the whole truth. And he knew that.

"Rose! That's not it." He chastised.

I looked away. How could I tell him about this? I'm sure he would listen and he would try to understand, but could he? Could he really understand?

He turned and faced me. He cupped my chin in his hand and lifted my head so I was looking him in the eyes. "You know you can tell me anything Roza." That's when I burst into tears.


	7. Chapter 7

***DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN VAMPIRE ACADEMY. RICHELLE MEAD DOES***

_He turned and faced me. He cupped my chin in his hand and lifted my head so I was looking him in the eyes. "You know you can tell me anything Roza." That's when I burst into tears._

Chapter 7

Dimitri looked at me extremely concerned. "Roza, what's wrong?" he asked. I could hear the panic in his voice.

"I don't know why I'm crying," I sobbed. He grabbed my hand and pulled me into the building. He brought me into a closet and then closed the door behind me. He wrapped his arms around me.

"It's okay. Roza, everything is going to be okay." He told me soothingly. It helped. I eventually stopped crying. I was embarrassed that I had become so emotional over his concern. "Are you ready to tell me what is wrong?" he asked me softly.

I ignored the question. "Let's get to practice Comrade." I said nonchalantly.

I expected him to argue with me, but to my surprise he nodded. "We'll talk later," he warned me. I wondered how I was going to get out of telling him what was wrong.

We went to one of the practice rooms in the gym and started off with a few stretches. Then we worked on various Strigoi attacks. Dimitri was playing Strigoi. He lunged at me with the speed of a Strigoi and I stepped out of the way, trying to swipe at him with my practice stake. I missed. He lunged for me again and I didn't get out of the way in time, my shoulder taking the force of the impact. He aimed a kick for my stomach and while I twisted to get out of the way, I felt a wave of nausea hit me. I ran for the bathroom. Dimitri once again followed me.

"Roza, what is going on?" Dimitri asked me concerned. "This is the fourth time this week you have gotten sick during training."

"I think I'm just stressed about the trials." I told him. I wasn't sure what else it could be.

He looked at me concerned. "Maybe we should stop for today."

I nodded at him in agreement. "Plus we need to have our talk," he reminded me.

I groaned. "Maybe I could handle a little more practice," I told him.

He grabbed my hand. "Not a chance," he warned.

I sighed and followed him from the gym back to his room.

"I don't even get to shower, really Comrade?" I asked him angrily. My anger was extreme, and I knew it. He looked at me surprised. My anger disappeared as suddenly as it had come. "Sorry. I don't know what just got into me."

"Are you still taking the darkness from Lissa?" he asked me.

I didn't look at him. "Yes," I said quietly.

"Oh Roza. You know how dangerous that is."

"I know, but I can't just let her go crazy. I have to help her!"

"But look at how moody you've been lately. It's hurting you!"

"I have not been moody!" I said grumpily. Then I paused and laughed at the contrast between my tone and my words. Dimitri joined in, but I could tell he didn't really find it funny.

We entered his bedroom, and I took my usual seat on the edge of my bed. To my surprise, Dimitri laid down on the other side of the bed, pulling my toward him so that I was laying on my side, facing him. He brushed the hair out of my face.

"What's wrong Roza?" he asked me gently.


	8. Chapter 8

***DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN VAMPIRE ACADEMY. RICHELLE MEAD DOES***

"_What's wrong Roza?" he asked me gently._

Chapter 8

I closed my eyes. I was scared to tell him, but I knew he wouldn't let it drop. I took a deep breath and told him everything. I was worried about how he would react, so when I finished I kept my eyes closed too afraid to face him. His hand caressed my face.

"Roza, open your eyes." He told me gently.

I opened my eyes and looked into his brown ones and saw love and understanding. "You're not mad?" I asked him. I held my breath waiting for his answer.

"Why would I be mad at you? You should never be afraid or ashamed to tell me what's bothering you. You were right when you said that we can't have children, but we can get married someday if that's what you want. There's no reason why we shouldn't be able to. I love you Roza and I will do whatever it takes to make you happy," he promised me.

The joy I felt then was overwhelming. I threw myself at him and hugged him tightly. "I love you so much Dimitri," I said into his shoulder. I inhaled the scent of his aftershave and felt like I was in heaven.

I pulled away from the hug and kissed him. The kiss was picking up in intensity. He pulled away briefly. I could see that he wanted me. He didn't want to wait until graduation. I didn't want to wait until graduation either. I pressed my advantage. I pushed him down so he was lying on his back and leaned over him. This time, he didn't hold back. I was about to take off his shirt when we heard a knock at his door. I looked up at him confused and he looked back at me equally confused.

Childishly, I hid behind his bed as he got up to open the door. I heard Alberta's voice.

"Belikov, I need to talk to you about a shift change. You are supposed to be on duty tonight, but I was wondering if you would be able to switch with Emil and do day duty tomorrow instead." Alberta requested.

"I am fine with that." Dimitri answered. "Is everything alright with Emil?"

"Yeah, he has business to take care of, so he won't be here tomorrow," Alberta explained.

Dimitri didn't say anything so I assume he nodded. I heard the door close.

"All's clear Roza," Dimitri said amused as I popped up from my hiding space.

"I feel like a teenager hiding in your closet when your parents come to check on you," I grumbled.

Dimitri chuckled and lay back down on the bed. I snuggled close to him. Something Alberta said clicked. "So you have all night off?" I asked him seductively.

"Oh no Roza. We can't. Two more weeks. That's it," he promised me.

"Can I at least stay over? No one needs to know," I suggested.

Dimitri looked at me and sighed. "Yes, you can stay over."

I squealed. I, Rose Hathaway, squealed. I don't squeal. Dimitri chuckled at my reaction and I snuggled closer to him. I suddenly felt very drowsy. I had to fight to keep my eyes open.

Dimitri noticed. "Go to sleep Roza," he told me gently. I obediently closed my eyes and fell asleep in his arms.


	9. Chapter 9

***DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN VAMPIRE ACADEMY. RICHELLE MEAD DOES***

_Dimitri noticed. "Go to sleep Roza," he told me gently. I obediently closed my eyes and fell asleep in his arms._

Chapter 9

_I woke up to a little boy tugging on my sleeve. He looks just like his father I thought fondly._

"_Mommy. Mommy," he chanted trying to get me out of bed._

"_What's up baby?" I asked him._

"_I hungwy. I hungwy. Bekfast time!" he exclaimed._

_I sighed and got out of bed, careful not to wake Dimitri. I went downstairs to the kitchen. "Do you wanna help mommy cook Petya?" I asked him._

"_Yes!" he exclaimed excitedly. He got the apron that Lissa gave him when they made cookies together once._

_Twenty minutes and a huge mess later, a plate of huge buttermilk pancakes is ready._

"_Petya why don't you go wake up Daddy while I get your sister?"_

"_Okay!" he agreed._

_I went to the door across from his bedroom and went inside._

"_Wake up sleeping beauty," I said, gently shaking my daughter. She inherited my reluctance to wake up. "Come on Ala. Time to wake up."_

_She rolled over and ignored me. I tried again. "If you don't wake up, I'm going to eat your breakfast," I warned her. She immediately hopped out of bed, wide awake. I grinned. She inherited my appetite as well._

_She went back down to the kitchen and I made her a plate. I put syrup on the table._

_Dimitri and our son joined us shortly after._

_Dimitri came over to me and kissed my neck. "Good morning Roza," he said happily. We watched our children eat breakfast. I turned to him with joy in my eyes. He kissed me. He whispered my name over and over again… Roza… Roza…_

"Roza…" Dimitri was shaking me. I sat up in bed looking around, momentarily confused. Then I realized that I had been sleeping and I sighed. Before I knew what was happening I started crying.

"Roza, why are you crying?" Dimitri asked, rubbing soothing circles into my back.

I answered with a question. "Why did you wake me up?"

"Because you have class and I have duty." He said with a grin.

I looked at his clock shocked. I had slept for almost twelve hours. "Wow. I didn't realize I was asleep that long." I admitted.

He just grinned and held out his hand. I grabbed it and we got up and made our way to his door. As he was about to put his hand on the door I shouted, "Wait!"

He paused and I pulled him towards me, losing myself in a kiss.

All too soon, he broke apart. "Let's go," he told me.

He walked me to my class, leaving me when I was outside the door. I watched him walk off and then was overcome with nausea. I was grateful he had already walked away. I can't wait for the trials to be over with. I don't know how much more of this sickness I can take. I'm almost as bad as Lissa. I froze. No way.


	10. Chapter 10

***DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN VAMPIRE ACADEMY. RICHELLE MEAD DOES***

_He walked me to my class, leaving me when I was outside the door. I watched him walk off and then was overcome with nausea. I was grateful he had already walked away. I can't wait for the trials to be over with. I don't know how much more of this sickness I can take. I'm almost as bad as Lissa. I froze. No way._

Chapter 10

I was pacing in the bathroom. I refused to believe it. I've only ever had sex with a dhampir. It's not possible. But another week had gone by and I was still getting sick all the time. I stole a pregnancy test from Dr. Olendzki. I can't be pregnant. I just can't be. It takes three minutes for the test to get results. The seconds were dragging by.

There are two days until my trials. If I'm pregnant will I still be able to take them? I brushed that thought aside. I can't be pregnant.

I decided that if I am pregnant, I'm not going to tell anyone until after trials. I can protect my stomach. Even if it affects my scores, I'm good enough that it won't be significant. But it's not going to matter, because I'm not pregnant. Right?

One more minute. I feel like it's been an eternity. I don't know what I'm going to do. I can't be pregnant. It's not possible. Me and Dimitri accepted that we wouldn't be able to have children with one another.

Finally the test is done. I looked at the results.

Well that's it. My life is over. How can I be pregnant? Will Dimitri believe me when I tell him or will he think I cheated on him? What am I going to do?

I quickly decided I wasn't going to tell Dimitri until after my trials. Being a guardian is too important to me. I will not lose that. If I can do both, have kids with Dimitri and be a guardian, well that's great. My dream from earlier came back to me. I could make it happen. It could really happen.

Something else dawned on me. This baby was a miracle. No dhampir has ever been able to reproduce with a dhampir. We're not supposed to be able to. But me and Dimitri are different, we did it.

I never thought I would want kids, because until now I never thought I could have them. I was dead set on being with Dimitri and I never imagined we could have kids. But now that I'm pregnant, I know that I want this. I felt a goofy smile spread across my face

I couldn't keep this to myself. I knew I had to tell someone. I couldn't tell a guardian because they wouldn't let me take my trials. I can't tell Dimitri because I don't think he'll believe me and I know he wouldn't let me step foot near the trials arena.

That leaves one option: Lissa. I ran to the Moroi dorms and banged on Lissa's door so hard I'm surprised I didn't break it. It was after school so I was sure Lissa would be in her room. Dimitri was going to be so pissed. I was blowing off his practice session for this.

Lissa opened the door looking surprised to see me. "I need to talk to you," I said a little desperately.

Lissa stepped aside and I walked into her dorm.

I sat down on her bed. "Rose what's wrong?" she asked me.

Looking at the compassion in her face, I burst into tears. I was very quickly tiring of these hormones.


	11. Chapter 11

***DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN VAMPIRE ACADEMY. RICHELLE MEAD DOES***

_Looking at the compassion in her face, I burst into tears. I was very quickly tiring of these hormones._

Chapter 11

Lissa scooted over and patted the area next to her on the bed. Obediently, I went and sat down by Lissa. She put a comforting arm around my shoulder and that's all I needed.

"Liss… I'm… Pregnant…" I muttered quietly, not looking at her.

"What? Are… are you sure?" Lissa asked shocked.

"I just took the test. Apparently that's why I've been getting sick all the time and crying and... I don't even know how this happened. The only person I've ever had sex with is a dhampir. Liss what am I going to do? How did this happen?" I bawled.

"You've only ever had sex with a dhampir? You're sure?" Lissa asked me.

"I've only had sex once. I think I would remember if it weren't with D… with a dhampir." I told her.

"And you're sure you're pregnant? You don't have like some kind of flesh eating virus or anything?" Lissa asked.

"Positive. I stole one of Dr. Olendzki's pregnancy tests."

Lissa gave me a look of disapproval and was quiet for a very long time.

"What are you going to do about your trials?" She asked me.

"I'm still going to take them. I'm just going to be extra careful. I'd rather take the lower score rather than not graduate." I admitted.

"Rose… That could be dangerous, and…"

I interrupted her. "This is my decision Liss. I need you to support me on this. I'm going to have a baby but it doesn't have to ruin my life in the process."

I was prepared for her to tell me I was irresponsible. I'm sure she must have thought it was a one-time thing, because I never told her about Dimitri. And now I was insisting on taking my trials anyway. I was prepared for anything, but I was not prepared for her reaction.

"Ohmygosh! Rose this is great! Obviously there is a greater force at work here if you got pregnant having sex with a dhampir. Our kids can be best friends and they can go to school together. We can go on family outings together! We can shop for maternity clothes together! This is so exciting. Think of all the things we'll be able to do. We can learn about having a baby together. We can talk to each other when the pregnancy gets tough. We can teach our kids how to ride bikes together, teach them to swim together. They can have play dates with one another." Lissa rambled.

I just stared at her shocked. She kept saying all the things we were going to be able to do. She wasn't upset. She was excited.

"We can go to the beach, or to a museum! Me, Christian, you, our babies, and…" Lissa paused and looked at me.

"Rose?" she asked.

I looked up at her dreading the question I knew she was going to ask.

"Rose… who is the father?" She asked me curiously. I looked down at my feet, not sure how I was going to tell her.


	12. Chapter 12

***DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN VAMPIRE ACADEMY. RICHELLE MEAD DOES***

"_Rose… who is the father?" She asked me curiously. I looked down at my feet, not sure how I was going to tell her._

Chapter 12

Lissa was sitting on the edge of her bed, waiting. "Dimitri," I mumbled quietly.

"What? I know I have amazing hearing, but even I couldn't hear what you just said." Lissa teased.

I took a deep breath and repeated, slightly louder, "Dimitri."

Lissa just looked at me shocked. "Dimitri… Belikov?" she asked cautiously.

I just nodded.

"DIMITRI BELIKOV ARE YOU INSANE?" she shouted at me.

"Liss, quiet down, someone will hear you." I warned her.

It took her a lot of effort to calm herself down. "Dimitri Belikov. You had sex with Dimitri Belikov. What were you thinking? What was he thinking? He's your teacher Rose! Wait! He didn't… ya know… force you into it did he. We have to go to Alberta now. We can't have someone like him…" Lissa ranted.

I cut her off. "Liss. He didn't force me into anything. I consented."

"Rose how long have you two been together?" she asked me.

"We only had sex once," I told her, avoiding her question.

"You didn't answer my question," Lissa said, narrowing her eyes.

I sighed. "We fell in love Liss. We tried to ignore it for a while, but it didn't work out for either of us. The night that Viktor kidnapped you… Well his charm didn't exactly make me attack

Dimitri. It was a lust charm. Me and Dimitri were all over each other."

"But Rose if that's the night you two and sex, you would have the baby in like three weeks," Lissa interrupted.

"We didn't have sex that night. Dimitri realized what was going on and managed to break the spell. But after that we had a hard time denying our feelings. We just kept getting closer and we started to love each other more and more. That night when Jesse and his gang…" I started to see red and had to take a deep breath. "Well when I took the spirit from you, Dimitri brought me to a cabin in the woods. He was supposed to patch me up, but spirit was still overwhelming me. He helped me fight it and was it was out of my system, we realized it was pointless to try to hide how we felt about one another. We gave in and had sex."

"Wait… Did you tell him yet?" Lissa asked.

I shook my head. "I'm going to wait until after my trials. He would never let me take them if he knew…"

"There's something else, isn't there. Another reason you don't want to tell him." Lissa asked.

"I'm terrified he won't believe me," I sobbed into her shoulder.

She kept telling me everything would be okay, I was starting to feel a little better. Suddenly there was a knock on the door.

"That might be Christian. I can tell him to leave." Lissa offered.

"No it's fine. He can come in. I know he won't tell anyone." I told her.

"Come in," Lissa yelled.

The door opened. That's not what I was expecting.


	13. Chapter 13

***DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN VAMPIRE ACADEMY. RICHELLE MEAD DOES***

_The door opened. That's not what I was expecting_.

Chapter 13

Dimitri was standing in the doorway, his face registering shock. He didn't know I would be here. "You didn't come to practice and when you weren't in your room I came to see if Lissa knew where you were," he explained.

He nodded towards Lissa. "Princess."

"Guardian Belikov." She said her words dripping with venom. Dimitri looked at her confused but didn't say anything. I shot her a look that quite clearly told her to drop it.

"I… uh… wasn't feeling well." I told him, not meeting his eyes. It wasn't exactly a lie.

I turned to Lissa. "I think I'm just going to go back to my dorm and lay down. Thanks." I told her earnestly.

I turned and walked out of her room. I was certain Dimitri was going to follow me. Sure enough, I heard quiet footsteps behind me. When we got to my dorm, I honestly thought he was going to let me go, but his hand reached for the doorknob, blocking me.

"Rose. Talk to me. What's going on?" He asked me.

"It's nothing. I just really haven't been feeling well. And I wanted to check in on Lissa, see how she was doing with the whole pregnancy thing." That wasn't a lie. We did talk about pregnancy… Just not hers, but I felt that was a detail Dimitri didn't need to know yet.

Dimitri looked around, and then entered my room with me. He shut the door behind him and pulled me towards him.

"Roza. You know you can tell me anything. I will do whatever I can to help you." He told me sincerely.

I could see it in his eyes. He really would do anything for me. I briefly debated telling him then immediately dismissed that idea.

I hugged him close to me, inhaling the scent of his aftershave. It immediately calmed me down.

"I just need you to be here for me," I told him, keeping my head buried in his shoulder.

He gently pulled me back and looked me in the eyes. "Always," he promised. Then he brought his lips to mine.

This time I was the one to pull away and I could see the hurt and shock on his face. I put my finger on his lips. "Hold that kiss," I ordered him. I went over to my window and shut the blinds, so that no one would be able to see what was going on in my room. I can't get Dimitri fired when we were this close to our freedom.

I went back over to him and we continued our kiss. I pressed myself closer to him. I didn't even realize that he had lifted me off the ground until we broke apart and he gently put me back down. Both of us were out of breath.

"I love you Dimitri," I told him.

"I love you too Roza," he replied.

I cherished those words, because I did not know if this was the last time I was going to hear them.


	14. Chapter 14

***DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN VAMPIRE ACADEMY. RICHELLE MEAD DOES***

_I cherished those words, because I did not know if this was the last time I was going to hear them._

Chapter 14

I was standing in the tent, waiting for my name to be called out.

Dimitri was standing in front of me, giving me last minute advice before I take my trials.

"Calm down Comrade. I think you're more nervous than I am," I joked.

"Ah Roza. That's what concerns me." He responded, but he gave me a small smile anyway.

"ROSEMARIE HATHAWAY."

It was my turn. Dimitri stroked my cheek. "Good luck!"

As I walked out onto the field, I forced all thoughts on Dimitri out of my head. I focused on one thing. My trials.

My trials passed in a blur. Guardian after guardian playing Strigoi came after me. It wasn't hard to block them from my stomach, because you really don't want a Strigoi to hit you there anyway. I took down guardian after guardian while defending myself and my baby. I know it was a little different than the way I usually fight, but it worked just as well. And pretty soon, there were no more guardians coming after me. It was over.

The first thing I saw was Dimitri's face shining with joy, then I took in the rest of the audience. Screaming and cheering my name. I passed. I was going to become a guardian. Alberta congratulated me, telling me I had the highest scoring trial of all the novices.

Lissa came over and found me. "You were amazing out there!" she squealed. "You did it!"

I had a huge grin on my face as everyone congratulated me. I little fluttering in my stomach reminded me that I still had one more thing to do before my victory was complete: tell Dimitri about the baby. I stood through the guardian ceremony, a little restless. I received my Promise Mark and the moment the ceremony was over I went back to my dorm and changed. It's official. I graduated. My excitement on graduating was short-lived as nervousness and fear took over.

I put it off as long as I could, but finally I knew I would have to talk to Dimitri. I went to his room and knocked lightly on his door, hoping he wasn't there. He was. He opened the door for me, excitement lighting up his features. It took me a moment to remember why. Then I realized, it was his promise. After I graduated he promised we would have sex again.

I started to cry. I hate hormones.

Dimitri looked at me concerned. "Roza what's wrong?" He asked me.

"I need to talk to you…" I said in between sobs.

I walked over to his bed and sat down. He sat down next to me and pulled me to his chest. I couldn't do it. How could I tell him I was pregnant? What if he didn't believe me? But he's going to find out sooner or later and it will be better if he hears it from me.

Not looking at him, I summoned up all of my courage and finally told him. "Dimitri… I'm pregnant."

I felt him stiffen. This was it. The moment of truth. He stood up and faced me.

I looked up. He was angry. I needed to explain. "Dimitri… Wait before you start yelling at me, you need to know something."

"You cheated on me! What more do I need to know?" He asked me angrily.

"I didn't cheat on you!" I exclaimed.

"Oh yeah, what do you call it when you have sex with someone when you're supposed to be with another man?"

"You don't understand. I've only had sex once in my life. Once!" I shouted at him, tears pouring down my face.

"How is this possible?" he finally asked.

I just looked at him. "I don't know," I admitted.

"Well we'll figure it out." He promised me.

I looked at him shocked. "You mean you believe me?"

"Roza, I love you. And I know you love me too. I know you wouldn't lie to me." He looked at me. I could see it in his face. He believed me.


	15. Chapter 15

***DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN VAMPIRE ACADEMY. RICHELLE MEAD DOES***

Chapter 15

I looked at Dimitri, my face filled with love and longing. He brought his lips to mine. We were finally going to do it again. He didn't want to at first, but I pointed out that he wasn't going to want to have sex with me once I started blowing up like a balloon. It really didn't take much to convince him.

I pulled his shirt off, and then he pulled off mine. I got his jeans off of him without even breaking our kiss. He did the same. All of our clothes ended up in a pile in the corner of his room. As we moved together it was like magic. He was my other half. I don't know how I would survive without him. It wasn't just about the sex, which was great. It was about him and me, finally being able to express our love. Because right now, we weren't breaking any rules. I was eighteen and officially a graduate. He was no longer my teacher. I felt as if I couldn't get close enough to him.

When it was over, I laid against him. His arms wrapped protectively around me. I looked up at him. His eyes reflected the same love and joy that were in my eyes.

"Comrade?"

"Hmm Roza?"

"What are we going to do about the baby?" I asked him nervously. Would he want to keep it? I didn't want to abandon it like my mother abandoned me.

"We're going to love it more than any child has ever been loved. And we're going to make sure it is given the best life possible." Dimitri promised me.

"So you want to keep them. You want to have kids with me?" I asked him still unsure.

He shifted so that we were lying side by side facing one another. "I wouldn't have it any other way Roza."

He looked at me as if he was just considering something. "How long have you known?"

"Officially? Two days. But I started to guess about two weeks ago." I admitted.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked angrily.

I hated to see him angry at me. "I knew you wouldn't let me take my trials. I couldn't not become a guardian. It wasn't an option." I explained.

He sighed. "I know I should be mad, but I'm not. I understand why you didn't tell me. And well… I'm just so happy!"

"What happens now?" I asked him.

"We can get an apartment at Court together. We'll have to tell your mother," he grimaced.

"We have to tell your family too," I reminded him.

He looked at me. "Do you want to meet my family?" He asked me.

I looked at him, my eyes widening. After a moment, I finally found my voice. "Yes. I want to meet your family."

Dimitri looked at me with sheer pleasure. We go to Court in three days. Maybe a little after that we can go?" He asked me hopefully.

I looked at him and nodded. I could tell he missed his family.

"I'm taking you to the doctors tomorrow," he said suddenly.

I looked at him confused. "What?"

"We have to start thinking about our child now." He told me.

Our child. Those words sent a shiver down my spine.


	16. Chapter 16

***DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN VAMPIRE ACADEMY. RICHELLE MEAD DOES***

_Our child. Those words sent a shiver down my spine._

Chapter 16

I was practically bouncing up and down as me and Dimitri went to see Alberta. I may have graduated, but we still needed permission from higher up so Dimitri could take me off campus to go to the doctors. To say Dimitri was nervous about telling Alberta about us was an understatement. He kept fidgeting.

"Calm down Comrade. We're not even breaking school rules anymore. We're allowed to be together now." I said with a smile.

He smiled too, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. "Yes, but that doesn't change the fact that when this happened…" he put his hand on my stomach. "You were still 17 and I was still your teacher."

"It's after the fact though. They have no proof!" I argued.

"Seven months from now, they'll have all the proof they need." He retorted.

"Firstly no one's even going to suspect you because we are both dhampirs. And secondly we didn't get caught and they can't punish us because now it's legal." I was determined to convince him I was right, even though I wasn't so sure.

He sighed. "I hope your right. I hope your right."

We were outside Alberta's office now. Suddenly what we were about to do hit me, and I grabbed Dimitri's hand for comfort. Our eyes met, and we smiled at one another. Then Dimitri picked up his hand and knocked on her door.

"Come in," Alberta called.

Dimitri started to let go of my hand but I only held onto his tighter.

As we entered the room, Alberta looked confused at first. Then she looked at our entwined hands and her face went blank.

Her reaction shocked me. She came out from behind her desk and pulled us into a hug. "Finally!" she said with a big smile on her face. "Seriously what took you guys so long?"

We just stared at her mouths agape. I didn't know what to say. Surely I was dreaming… or hallucinating… or something. I looked at Dimitri and saw that his eyes mirrored my surprise.

"Uh… What?" I asked.

"It's about time for you guys to get together. Some of us guardians were even taking bets on how long it would take for you two to get together after graduation. I guess Emil wins, because he said the day after," she said amused.

I really shouldn't have said anything. I don't know why I did. I really need to work on screening what comes out of my mind. "Technically last night…" I blurted out before I could stop myself. Both me and Dimitri turned bright red.

Alberta looked at us confused, and then comprehension lit her features. To my surprise she held up her hand. "I really don't need to know about your sex life Rose." I turned even redder at her comment.

Dimitri brought up something I didn't even consider. "You knew?" He asked shocked.

"Of course I knew. Half the guardians here knew." Alberta laughed at our obviously bewildered expressions. "I mean it was pretty obvious. That day that by the pond when you took Rose away because she got really angry? Well it doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize that it doesn't take two hours to patch someone up."

"Well…" Dimitri started.

"Like I said before. I don't need to hear about your sex life." Alberta interrupted.

"Well… it's going to be hard to avoid that particular topic…" Dimitri said, not looking at Alberta.

"Why would that be hard?" Alberta asked, confused.

I looked at Dimitri. It was obvious he couldn't say it. Once again I just blurted it out. "I'm pregnant Alberta."


	17. Chapter 17

***DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN VAMPIRE ACADEMY. RICHELLE MEAD DOES***

_I looked at Dimitri. It was obvious he couldn't say it. Once again I just blurted it out. "I'm pregnant Alberta."_

Chapter 17

Alberta just looked at me shocked. And when she recovered herself, she was angry. "HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO DIMITRI? DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH HE CARES ABOUT YOU? HOW COULD YOU HAVE SEX WITH A MOROI WHEN YOU WERE SEEING DIMITRI?" Alberta screamed. I'm pretty sure everyone on campus may have heard her.

"Alberta, I don't think you understand," I began.

"Oh I understand perfectly well," she said her words dripping with venom. "What I don't understand is why Belikov is still with you."

"Because the child is mine." Dimitri responded.

"Yeah, well love… What did you say?" Alberta asked shocked.

"We know it seems impossible, but Rose says I'm the only person she's ever slept with and I believe her." Dimitri explained.

"But… it's not possible," Alberta said, shocked.

"We don't know how it happened…" Dimitri began.

"Actually, I have a theory," I interrupted. "I think when Lissa brought me back to life after the accident, she might have accidentally healed my infertility."

"That's possible," Dimitri conceded.

"Or we're just both freaks who can reproduce with each other." I teased him. "It would explain why we're so compatible."

"I do not need to hear this," Alberta muttered. "Did you need anything else?"

"Actually we need you to tell the guardian at the gate that I have permission to take Rose off campus," Dimitri admitted.

"Jean's the guardian at the gate. She's the one that bet you would… um… be together the night after graduation. All you have to do is tell her she one the bet and I'd bet she would do anything for you." Alberta told us.

"Exactly how many guardians knew about me and Rose?" Dimitri demanded. "I barely even know Jean!"

"Well, like I said, it was obvious once we knew what to look for. So almost every guardian," Alberta admitted.

Dimitri muttered something to himself in Russian then stood up and pulled me up with him. He left without saying goodbye to Alberta. I barely had time to wave goodbye before I was whisked out of the room. Dimitri led me over to a silvery grey Honda. I groaned and he looked at me concerned.

"Seriously. Couldn't we have a more interesting car?" I asked him. He just smiled at me. He opened the passenger door for me and I climbed in.

He got in the driver's side and started the car. Before he started driving, he grabbed my hand and kissed it. He looked at me. "I love you so much. You are making my dreams come true. I get to have a family with the love of my life. Roza, you've made me the happiest man in the world." There were tears in his eyes when he finished.

"I love you too Comrade." I said as tears sprang into my eyes as well. Damn these hormones! Dimitri reached over and wiped away one of my tears. He looked at his watch and swore in Russian. "Careful Comrade. No negative vibes around the baby," I said jokingly.

"I'm sorry," he teased. "It's just maybe one day you'll be on time for something."

"Hey that's not fair. I'm never late for breakfast or dinner. And I'm usually on time for lunch. Speaking of breakfast and my empty stomach…" I started.

"You ate enough for two people just an hour ago." He sighed. "We'll get something to eat." He promised. "After your appointment."

I sighed and turned away, stomach growling. This was going to be a long day.


	18. Chapter 18

***DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN VAMPIRE ACADEMY. RICHELLE MEAD DOES***

_I sighed and turned away, stomach growling. This was going to be a long day._

Chapter 18

We pulled up to the doctor's office. Dimitri made me sit down the moment we entered, and signed me in. We were waiting almost forty minutes, before the doctor came out and called my name.

The receptionist said, "You may go in now."

"No shit Sherlock," I muttered under my breath.

"Rose!" Dimitri chastised, trying not to grin. "What happened to no negative vibes towards the baby?"

"Sorry Comrade." I looked down to my stomach and patted it lightly. "Sowwy baby," I said in baby talk.

We followed the doctor into the examination room. "Guardian Hathaway, Guardian Belikov. I am Dr. Kritto." He nodded at both of us and then looked at Dimitri. "Guardian Belikov would you mind waiting…"

"I'd rather he stayed in here," I interrupted. The doctor look surprised, but he didn't say anything to refute my decision.

"I understand you're a little over two months along?" Dr. Kritto asked.

I nodded. "Give or take a week."

"Have you taken any prenatal pills or any type of vitamin for your child?" He asked.

I couldn't meet his eye as I shook my head. He scrawled something on a piece of paper and handed it to me. "That is the type and brand of prenatal pills I recommend. Follow the instructions on the bottle when you get it." I took the paper and handed it to Dimitri and looked back at the doctor expectantly.

"Now, if you can lie down on the table. I can give you your first glimpse of your baby," Dr. Kritto said smiling at me.

I lay down on the table and lifted up my shirt so my stomach was exposed. Maybe I was just imagining things, but I thought I could see a small but defined bump on my stomach. "This will be cold," Dr. Kritto warned me. I did not prepare myself for it. It wasn't cold. It was freezing. Dimitri grabbed my hand, which was the only thing keeping me from cursing out the doctor. It's not his fault my moods have a mind of their own these days.

Dr. Kritto moved the ultrasound wand around over my stomach. "Here is you're…" he paused and frowned.

I looked up at him instantly panicked. "What's wrong? Is the baby alright?" I asked, terrified of the answer.

"The bab… I'll be right back." He said to us.

I looked at Dimitri terrified. "What if there's something wrong. What if because the baby has two dhampir parents their deformed or have two heads or something. What if…"

Dimitri interrupted me, "Roza. You need to calm down. Our baby is going to be fine. They're going to be like any other dhampir. Better even, with us as parents? We'll raise the best b-a-d -s-s Strigoi killing baby! I promise."

He leaned closer to me and kissed my forehead and then pulled me into a hug. "I really hope our baby doesn't inherit your spelling skills Comrade. I believe you missed an a." I managed to make a joke in true Rose Hathaway fashion. Then the doctor came back in and I concentrated on not having a panic attack.

"Guardian Hathaway, I have some excellent news," Dr. Kritto said with a smile.


	19. Chapter 19

***DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN VAMPIRE ACADEMY. RICHELLE MEAD DOES***

"_Guardian Hathaway, I have some excellent news," Dr. Kritto said with a smile._

Chapter 19

True to his word, Dimitri took me out for lunch after the appointment. We were both still trying to wrap our heads around the news, so for the most part we ate in silence, but it was a comfortable silence.

I inhaled my BLT, but I was still hungry. "Any chance you're not going to finish your burger Comrade?"

He laughed, "Not a chance, but you could always order something else. I don't understand how you can eat so much."

"Hey! I only ate a meal for one person. I'm eating for three here," I said patting my stomach.

Dimitri smiled. "I still can't believe it. Twins!" I knew he was excited. I was extremely excited, but also a little worried. One baby is a lot to handle, but twins. I only hope we'll be able to manage.

He glanced up at me. "Hey, it will be okay." He promised me. "We'll figure it out. We can do anything if we work together." He took my hand and squeezed it.

I smiled at him. "I know." I said, even though I didn't. When Dr. Kritto told me I was having twins, I just stared at him, certain I heard wrong. Dimitri didn't quite understand. I'm eighteen and I'm having twins. I know Dimitri is ready for children, but I don't know if I am.

Dimitri frowned at me. "What's really wrong Roza?" He asked me. I hadn't shared my fears about not being ready for one baby let alone two. I knew he would understand, but I didn't want to ruin the moment for him.

I was spared having to answer, because the waitress came back over. "Is there anything else I can get you?" she asked Dimitri with a flirty smile. Was I the only one that heard the double meaning?

"My girlfriend might want something else," he said gesturing to me. I tried not to laugh, but did not succeed and a giggle snuck out. I guess I wasn't the only one who noticed.

The waitress reluctantly turned to me. "Can I have a bacon cheeseburger with mayo… To go?" I asked her. I figured I might as well eat in the car on the way back.

"Do you want dessert or anything?' she asked her back to me again. She put emphasis on anything and winked at Dimitri. She winked at him! Oh I am so gonna kill this bitch. Dimitri grabbed my hand, and ordered a couples dessert from the menu, never letting go of my hand. I don't know if he held my hand to calm me down or tick off the waitress. Whichever it was, it had both effects and I was exponentially happier as I saw the waitress storm off. That may be a little bit of an exaggeration, but she did walk away with attitude. That counts, right?

I didn't even realize I was glaring at her until Dimitri chuckled. "You're really cute when you angry you know that?" He asked teasingly.

I just humph-ed at him and stuck out my tongue, which he seemed to find even funnier.

I was distracted when the waitress returned with our desert. It was a huge platter of ice cream. Vanilla and chocolate and strawberry and mint. All different flavors topped with hot fudge and a lot of whipped cream. It was definitely meant to feed at least two to three people. Dimitri pushed the entire plate over to me.

"If those kids are going to inherit your appetite you'll probably want the whole thing to yourself," he said jokingly.

I grinned at him. "The three of us will enjoy every bite."


	20. Chapter 20

***DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN VAMPIRE ACADEMY. RICHELLE MEAD DOES***

I grinned at him. "The three of us will enjoy every bite."

Chapter 20

"Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god!" Lissa squealed pulling both Dimitri and me into a hug when we got back to the Academy and told her the news. She grinned at both of us. "This is so exciting!"

I was shocked. She was being civil towards Dimitri? I wasn't the only one surprised. "You… You're not mad at me anymore?" Dimitri asked hesitantly.

"I was never really mad at you," Lissa admitted. "I was just upset that I didn't know about it until Rose was already pregnant. And then to find out it was you of all people. Not that your not good looking or anything, but as her mentor it was the last thing I expected. Then I realized that it was right in front of my face the whole time and I never saw it even though I'm supposed to be the smart one. And then I felt like you were taking away my best friend, because its obvious how much she loves you. One time when she slept over, she kept mumbling your name in her sleep and moaning. I just assumed that she was dreaming about some kind of workout now I realize she was dreaming about being with you. And both of you are supposed to be my guardians so I never expected something like this to happen…" Lissa rambled on.

I turned bright red when she mentioned the dream and Dimitri turned to look at me with an amused expression. He raised one eyebrow at me – something he still has yet to teach me how to do. I looked determinedly at Lissa, pretending to be paying attention to her ramblings.

"Um Princess?" Dimitri asked.

Lissa paused and looked at Dimitri confused. "Yes?" She asked curiously.

"I could never take away your best friend." He promised. "I've seen the way that she worries about you and cares about you. You are as much part of her as I am."

Lissa grinned ear to ear at that one. I couldn't help myself. I started to tear up, and I could see tears in her eyes. At least we're hormonal together. We hugged and said our goodbyes. Lissa wanted to go meet up with Christian.

Dimitri started to walk me back to my room.

"Are you planning on sleeping in my room tonight Comrade?" I asked him curiously.

He looked at me surprised. "Both of us on a twin bed? I don't think so. I just assumed you would like to pack some pajamas and clothes for tomorrow," he said with a twinkle in his eye.

I sighed. "I suppose that's a good idea."

Dimitri laughed. He kissed my forehead. "I'll see you later."

I gripped his shirt. "Where are you going?" I asked him.

"I have some work to do. I still technically work at the Academy," he reminded me.

I sighed. "Fine," I said grumpily. "What time do you want me meet you in your room?"

"Actually Roza, I'm going to pick you up here," he said grinning at me.

I looked at him surprised. "I know the way to your room, Comrade." I told him stubbornly.

He shrugged. "I'll be here in about two hours." And then he walked away.

I stared after him in shock. What was going on?


	21. Chapter 21

***DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN VAMPIRE ACADEMY. RICHELLE MEAD DOES***

_I stared after him in shock. What was going on?_

Chapter 21

Before I could even start to consider what Dimitri might be up to, someone interrupted my thoughts.

"Little dhampir!" Adrian called to me.

I turned around and inwardly groaned. "What, Adrian?" I asked annoyed.

"You could be a little nicer. You've been avoiding me for weeks," he pointed out. And it was true. I had gotten tired hearing about how odd my aura looked. When I found out I was pregnant, I spent even less time with him afraid that he would see the same thing in my aura that he saw in Lissa's.

I shrugged at him. "I've been busy."

He narrowed his eyes, studying my aura. His eyes widened in shock. "Rose?" he started hesitantly.

I groaned. "Did you have to study my aura Adrian? Am I not allowed any privacy?"

He pursed his lips. "How long have you know?" he asked me quietly.

"Two weeks," I replied.

He nodded at me. "And Belikov?" he asked me curiously.

"As excited as I am," I grinned.

Adrian smiled lightly, but I could see the pain behind his smile. As annoying as Adrian is sometimes, I know he legitimately cares about me and this cannot be easy for him. I started to tear up and Adrian looked at me concerned. "Rose, what's wrong?" He asked worried.

"Nothing's wrong, I just know that this is hurting you, and I know your annoying sometimes, but you have a good heart and you do care about me, but I just can't return your feelings. I'm sorry Adrian." I sobbed.

"You're apologizing to me because you don't feel the same way about me that I do about you?" he asked me shocked.

I just nodded. "Oh little dhampir. You don't need to feel bad about that." He soothed me. I instantly felt better. "You should go lie down for a little bit," he told me. That sounded like the most reasonable idea in the world.

The moment I was in my room, with the door closed. I broke out of it. I realized he used compulsion, which made me angry. Really angry. I decided to take a shower to calm myself down. When I got out of the shower there was a knock on my door. I felt through the bond that it was Lissa. I opened the door, looking at her confused. "Dimitri found me a few minutes ago. He said he was caught up with guardian business, and asked me to walk you over to where he's meeting you,' she explained.

"You mean his room?" I asked her.

She shook her head. "That's not where you're meeting him. Now hurry up and get dressed!" She ordered me.

"Liss where am I meeting him?" I asked her.

She smiled at me mischievously, but refused to say anything. I sighed and quickly got dressed. I had planned on my comfy sweatpants and a tank-top, but that was when I assumed that I would be going straight to Dimitri's room. I had no idea what we would be doing tonight. I settled on a knee length strapless dress. It nicely accented my curves, but didn't let on that I was showing already. Lissa nodded her approval.

She suddenly looked at me apprehensively and held up a blindfold. I looked at her confused. "Dimitri's request," she admitted.

That was the only thing that would allow me to be blindfolded. I sighed. Lissa led me out of the room, keeping me from walking into walls. I knew we went outside, because of the sudden drop in temperature. It felt like we were walking forever before Lissa stopped and opened a door for me. She walked me a little further.

Then she took off my blindfold. I gasped.


	22. Chapter 22

***DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN VAMPIRE ACADEMY. RICHELLE MEAD DOES***

_Then she took off my blindfold. I gasped._

Chapter 22

In the back of my head, I took in all the details. I was standing in the cabin, where me and Dimitri first gave into each other. The sheets on the bed had been changed since the last time me and Dimitri had spent the night here. Instead of the thick quilt that was on it before, there lay a thin blanket that was a patchwork of different colors. It was beautiful.

I realized that there were more candles around the cabin than usual. If my rational mind were working, I would probably think it was a safety hazard. But the candles illuminated everything. The cabin looked as though someone had recently cleaned it. I briefly had an image of Dimitri in an apron doing all the chores.

I noticed that there were a lot of people crowded into the cabin. Lissa and Christian stood together holding hands. Adrian, Eddie, and Mia stood together in a group. A group of guardians that I could have sworn hated me stood in a group. I mean Stan was there. Stan! My mom stood with a man, and some people I didn't recognize were huddled together. They were a group of women with a boy that couldn't be older than ten who looked exactly like Dimitri and a baby girl who was probably almost two. Three of the girls were younger, one woman was middle aged, and the other was quite elderly. I realized they had to be Dimitri's family. The three girls must be his sister, which made sense, because one of them was very pregnant. I briefly remember Dimitri telling me one of his sisters was pregnant. I figured the baby and the little boy must be his niece and nephew. There was a strange man standing with my mother. He was wearing a bright scarf around his neck. I had a feeling that I did not want to know what he was doing there.

I noticed that everyone was smiling at me, exciting for what was coming. Tears were streaming down Lissa's cheeks.

I realized that Dimitri must have gone behind my back and told a bunch of people about our relationship, because everyone was looking at me with knowing expressions. I didn't feel angry with him though.

But all of that was in the back of my head. My focus was on the man before me. He had a huge smile that showed all of his perfectly white teeth and he looked like he had spent a long time trying to tame his hair. He was in a button up blue shirt and black slacks, which for him was very formal. The top buttons on his shirt were unbuttoned, hinting at the muscles underneath. There was a twinkle of excitement in his eyes. He stood before me. Or I should say kneeled before me.

"Rosemarie Hathaway. I love you with all my heart and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?"


	23. Chapter 23

***DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN VAMPIRE ACADEMY. RICHELLE MEAD DOES***

"_Rosemarie Hathaway. I love you with all my heart and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?"_

Chapter 23

I just stared at him. I had not expected this. My mind went ahead, out of sync with my body. In my mind I had already told him yes. I was thinking about what I wanted my wedding to be like, and whether I wanted it before or after I had my kids. Finally my body caught up with my mind.

"Yes!" I squealed. Yes. I, Rose Hathaway squealed. I threw myself at him before he could even put the ring on my finger. I hugged him close to me. More calmy, I said. "Yes. Of course I'll marry you." I let him put the ring on my finger. Then he pulled me up to me and kissed me. It was a short, sweet kiss.

Then I heard the cheers. Everyone in the cabin was clapping and cheering. They all came up to congratulate me, one by one. I was happier than when I passed my trials and found out I had the highest score of all the novices. I was happier than the first time I kissed Dimitri. I admit, I was even happier than the first time Dimitri slept with me. Because now, Dimitri was mine and I was his. That's how it is going to be forever.

I barely realized all the people congratulating me. First there was Alberta who pulled us both into a hug. Then Lissa gave me a long hug and gushed about how this was the beginning of forever. I owe it to Christian who finally pried her off of me. Christian gave me a quick hug, and I could see that he was happy for me.

Then Adrian came up to me. "Little dhampir. Are you happy?" he asked me.

"Yes," I said grinning and clutching Dimitri's hand. "I've never been happier."

Adrian nodded, not seeming all that happy for me. I had to swallow back my guilt.

Then Stan came. I thought I was going to die when he pulled me into a hug. "It's about time you two got together," he said. My jaw literally dropped to the floor.

My mother came up to us next. She was really happy for me.

"Oh honey," she said crying. "I've never seen you so happy. This is going to be so excited. You're getting married. And you're having a baby." Apparently she didn't know I was having twins.

"Uh… Mom. I'm not having a baby." I told her.

She looked at me confused. "But Dimitri said…"

"I'm having two," I interrupted her.

"Twins?" My mom shouted. "Honey that's amazing!" she said pulling me into a bone-crushing hug.

At first, I didn't notice that there was someone right behind her. The man in the bright scarf cleared his throat and looked at my mom expectantly.

"Not right now Ibrahim," my mom warned him.

I looked at my mom curiously. "Mom do you know each other? Who is he?" I asked her.

"Yes. I do know him. Rose, Ibrahim Mazure. Ibrahim, Rose."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, kid." He said to me.

Kid? Who does he think he's talking to? I am not a kid! "Who exactly are you old man?" I asked him.

"Rose?" My mother started hesitantly. "Ibrahim is your father."


	24. Chapter 24

***Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy, Richelle Mead does!***

"_Rose?" My mother started hesitantly. "Ibrahim is your father."_

Chapter 24

I played with the words in my head. They didn't seem to make sense. "My father?" I asked out loud.

"Well… Yes..." Janine admitted. "When Guardian Belikov came to me and told me about your relationship and asked me for my blessing, I contacted him to relay the good news. He insisted on meeting you."

"Why now?" I demanded. It didn't make sense to me. Why did he want to be part of my life now?

"I want to be part of my grandchild's life and my daughter's life." Ibrahim said.

"Well _Ibrahim,_" I began I said his name like it was a curse.

"Please call me Abe," he interrupted.

"Okay, Abe. Isn't it a little late for that? You had eighteen years to be part of my life," I pointed out.

"Actually I didn't. Your mother wanted you to be raised by the Academy so you would be an amazing guardian," Abe sniffed as though he thought she was mistaken in her choice.

"I only did what I thought was best for her, and you agreed! And look how far she's come. She's the best novice here." Janine snapped at him.

"Like any child of ours would be able to be anything less than the best. She gets it from both of us," Abe said smugly.

I had to admit, he might have a point there. I could see he had the same tall, lean build as most Moroi, but he also looked like he had some muscle packed into his slender frame. I sighed. I just needed time to wrap my head around this information. I mean who expects to get a Dad for their graduation?

I watched my parents go back and forth with their bickering, unsure what to do. I shot Dimitri a pleading look.

"Do you want to meet my family now?" He asked me, pointing to the group that was still huddled in the corner of the cabin.

I looked at him nervously and nodded.

Interrupting my parents fight, I said, "It's nice to meet you Abe." Then I walked away.

I followed Dimitri to his family. He was clearly overjoyed at the idea of me meeting his family. I was terrified. What if they don't like me?

Turns out my worrying was all for nothing. The second we got within range, Dimitri's family engulfed him in hugs. I had no idea what they were saying, because they were speaking to each other in Russian. Dimitri pointed at me and said something to his family.

His sisters introduced themselves one by one, smiling at me warmly. His eldest sister, Karolina, introduced me to her two kids, Paul and Zoya. Zoya was adorable and was fast asleep in her mother's arms.

The woman I assumed was Dimitri's mother spoke to me. "I am Olena Belikova. I am Dimka's mother." She threw her arms around me in a big hug. "Thank you," she whispered in my ear.

"Thank you for what?" I asked her confused. "I didn't do anything."

"Oh, but you did. You've given me the best gift I could ever ask for. You make my son happy," she explained with tears running down her cheeks.


	25. Chapter 25

***Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy, Richelle Mead does!***

"_Oh, but you did. You've given me the best gift I could ever ask for. You make my son happy," she explained with tears running down her cheeks._

Chapter 25

Dimitri's family was amazing. Okay, I'll admit, Yeva creeps me out a little bit… okay a lot. The first time she talked to me, she put her hands on my stomach and muttered something in Russian. Dimitri's family started to laugh. Dimitri turned red next to me and responded in Russian. I asked him what she said and Dimitri just shook his head. "I'll tell you later," he whispered in my ear. After that, Yeva kept shooting me knowing looks. It was like she was looking into my soul.

After Dimitri's family left the cabin, I pestered him about what Yeva said. He turned red again.

"Come on Comrade. We're having babies and getting married and your embarrassed about what your grandmother said?" I asked him incredulously.

"It really was nothing Roza," Dimitri told me.

"Then why won't you tell me?" I asked him confused.

"She just said something about how we have to be careful with the um… activities we engage in. She doesn't want anything to happen to her great grandchildren," he explained to me. Now I was the one that blushed. Obviously people knew me and Dimitri had had sex, but the fact that she knew we've done it since I got pregnant was awkward and embarrassing.

Thinking of his family, something just occurred to me. "Does this mean we're not going to Siberia?" I asked him curiously.

Dimitri grinned at me. "My mother had issued us an invitation to stay with her for a week. We'll be leaving for Siberia in two weeks."

"We're going to need to go shopping before we leave," I told him.

He looked at me curiously. "Why?" He asked.

"I don't own a winter jacket or any winter clothes that still fit me," I admitted to him. I may not be that long in my pregnancy, but twins have had a huge impact on my body. At three months, you could already see my belly if you look at the right angle. I wasn't planning on wearing my tight fitting clothes when I'm trying to impress his family.

"There you go again. I really don't think Siberia is what your expecting," he told me. "It's as hot as it is here this time of year."

"Come on Comrade. Siberia just sounds cold," I teased him.

"I don't know where you're getting that from, but I assure you, it will be hot and dry this time of year." Dimitri promised.

"You just don't want to go shopping do you?" I joked.

I saw Dimitri make a face at the idea of shopping. I couldn't help myself. I laughed. "Shopping is not that bad," I told him.

"Maybe not for you," Dimitri retorted.

"You can't fool me Comrade. I know you get a secret pleasure out of seeing all the pretty clothing," I teased.

"I have no interest in buying clothing," he said with a sniff.

"What is it you don't like about buying clothing?" I asked him curiously.

"I don't find it to be an essential. I think you should live with what you have for as long as possible." He admitted.

"Well, if that's how you want to look at it. I can think of something that might help preserve your clothes and make them last longer." I told him flirtatiously.

"Oh and what would that be?" He asked me with a grin.

"It's an activity that requires hardly any clothing," I told him suggestively while I winked at him. I pulled him towards me and our lips met.


	26. Chapter 26

***Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy, Richelle Mead does!***

Chapter 26

"This is so exciting!" I was practically jumping up and down.

"We're just furniture shopping," Dimitri reminded me, trying to calm me down.

"It's not just furniture shopping. It's shopping for stuff that's going to make our house our home." I said grinning at him.

He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close to him. "You're right," he said his eyes gleaming with excitement. I know he had complained about the idea of spending all day in stores, but this was different. This was going to define our home and he was excited.

The first thing we did was figure out what color we wanted to paint our room. We had to have spent at least an hour figuring out what color would look best in our room. We chose a color that looked like the color of the sunrise.

After that, we went in a second-hand/ discount store. We both had limited funds, and while Lissa offered to help, I wanted to build a home on what we already I had. I knew Dimitri didn't understand, but he didn't want to upset me when I was already so hormonal and when he knew this is what I really wanted.

We immediately found a couple of things for the nursery. To Dimitri's pleasure we found a mobile that had cowboy hats and horses dangling from it. When he was looking at cowboy wallpaper, I put my foot down. "I swear Comrade, if you try to push your weird obsession with the west onto these kids, I am going to burn one of your westerns."

His eyes widened in mock fear. "You wouldn't."

"Oh I would." I told him, trying to look serious. I knew he didn't believe me, but we started looking at different wallpaper just the same. He settled for a pale blue wallpaper that had various animals across the top and bottom. It was simple, but not too plain. It was perfect.

As we were about to leave, I saw a rocking chair in the corner of the store. I paused and walked over to it. I suddenly had an image of me sitting in the chair with my kids in my lap while I read them a bedtime story. I knew I had to get it. I looked at Dimitri. We had decided we were only going to get the essentials, but at the same time, he could see how much I wanted it. He sighed and agreed to get it. I almost squealed but caught myself last minute. I hugged Dimitri and gave him a quick kiss.

We went back to our house, having gotten all the purchases we wanted for that day. We walked into the living room where boxes of our stuff lay, waiting to be unpacked. Dimitri put everything we bought in the living room. He walked to our empty bedroom with the paint cans. When I say empty, I mean empty. Dimitri ordered a bed, but it hadn't come in yet. For the past four days I have been sleeping on the couch in the living room. Dimitri, being the gentleman he is agreed to sleep on the floor. Dimitri was less than satisfied with this arrangement, mostly because I refused to sleep with him until we have a bed. Dimitri shooed me back to the living room muttering something about paint fumes. I knew he was going to start painting immediately. He had already made all the preparations so that he would be able to paint the moment we got home.

I looked around the living room. Dimitri had painted it a pale orange color. There was a small bookshelf that went from the edge of the window to the corner of the wall. It was already filled with Dimitri's books and the books that I had acquired while at St. Vladimir's. There was a coffee table in front of the comfy black couch. On the coffee table were little figurines that I felt added character to the room.

Looking around at all the mismatched furniture and decorations, I felt a sense of accomplishment. This was my home.


	27. Chapter 27

***Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy, Richelle Mead does!***

Chapter 27

"Roza… Rose… Rose…" Dimitri was shaking me. "You need to wake up Roza."

Without opening my eyes I snuggled closer to the couch and threw my pillow at Dimitri.

"Come on Rose. You can sleep on the flight. If you don't wake up soon we're going to miss our flight to Siberia," Dimitri warned.

I just ignored him.

"I guess I'll just have to throw out your breakfast then," he told me.

I shot up off the couch. "Breakfast?" I asked him happily. He laughed at me and pulled me towards the kitchen. I could smell the bacon.

He pulled out my chair for me like a gentleman and pushed me back towards the table. Then he put a plate with three huge pancakes, eggs, and bacon in front of me. Before I could start eating, he handed me a cup of water and a prenatal pill. "It's a good thing you're here Comrade or else I would never remember to take these," I said holding up the pill.

"Oh so that's what I'm good for? Giving you your medicine?" Dimitri asked, pretending to look hurt.

I widened my eyes innocently. "Of course," I teased.

He rolled his eyes. "Eat up, we have to leave in a couple of minutes," he warned me, walking out of the kitchen to go get our bags.

I inhaled my food. Just as I was making my way over to the sink to clean my plate, Dimitri came back. "No, no, no! I'll do it," he told me.

"Dimitri I'm pregnant not dying. I can wash my own dishes!" I told him.

"But the doctor said…"

"The doctor said that pretty soon I'm going to have to spend as little time standing as possible, simply because it will tire me out faster," I reminded him. Dimitri had taken 'pretty soon' to mean the second we left the doctor's office. Dimitri made a face at me but allowed me to wash my plate as he studied my every move to make sure I didn't over exert myself.

Once I was done, we heard someone beeping outside. Dimitri went to grab the bags and met me outside. Eddie was grinning at us from the car, wearing a silly chauffer's hat. I started giggling the second I saw him. He got out of the car, opened the car door, and bowed to us, barely keeping his laughter in. I rolled my eyes and ignored the open door, choosing to go in the other side so I could open the door for myself. Dimitri got in the side that Eddie had opened and just like that we were off to the airport.

We waited for two hours and then we were finally up in the air on our way to Siberia. I looked at Dimitri's excited expression. He missed Siberia and I knew he was excited.

I had tried to bring a jacket with me, but he swore up and down that I wasn't going to need it. We sat in our comfy first class seats and he told me stories about Siberia. He kept me laughing almost the entire flight. I was shocked when the flight attendant told us we were beginning our descent. I looked at his eyes and they matched the surprise in mine.

I looked out my window and got my first glimpse of Siberia.


	28. Chapter 28

***Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy, Richelle Mead does!***

_I looked out my window and got my first glimpse of Siberia._

Chapter 28

The second we were out of the airport and Dimitri had gotten a rental car, I insisted we stop somewhere for food. I had only had a little bit to eat on the plane. The sun would be coming up in a couple of hours and it reminded me it had been a while since I had had something real to eat.

Dimitri took me to this little Russian diner. There were two waitresses sitting at one of the booths. One was quite elderly, the other one was probably Dimitri's age, blonde, and beautiful. The blonde one said something to the elderly one in Russian as we walked in. I silently prayed that we would get the elderly one. Of course not. We got the blonde one. I inwardly groaned. She led us to the booth.

In a ridiculously cheery voice she said, "Здравствуйте. Я Александру, и я буду вашим сервером сегодня." (Hello. I am Alexandra and I will be your server today.)

Dimitri replied in Russian, "Мой жених не владеет русским языком. Вы говорите по-английски?" (My fiancé doesn't speak Russian. Do you speak English?)

The waitress replied in English. "I speak English," she said in a thick Russian accent.

I looked at Dimitri confused, but he just grinned at me and didn't explain anything.

"Can I get you anything to drink?" she asked Dimitri, batting her eyelashes and obviously flirting with him. When he motioned to me, she reluctantly turned to me and I ordered my drink. Dimitri did the same.

She left to go get our drinks and I raised my eyebrows at Dimitri. "I just asked her if you spoke English," Dimitri explained to me.

"Oh, okay," I replied happily. I had let my imagination get the best of me and had imagined all sorts of awful scenarios with what they could have been saying. I felt a little silly at what I had let my imagination think.

"What would you like to eat?" He asked me.

I took one look at my menu then handed it to Dimitri. "You pick," I told him. The menu was entirely in Russian. I only could hope they had normal food here. Dimitri studied the menu for only a moment.

When the waitress came back, Dimitri ordered for both of us. The waitress lowered herself so her cleavage was right in Dimitri's face while she wrote down our ordered. She was really starting to piss me off.

When she walked away, I scowled at Dimitri. He grinned back at me. "You know you're really cute when your jealous," he told me with a straight face.

I stuck my tongue out at him. "We really couldn't get granny?" I asked him annoyed.

Dimitri tried to hold back his smile. "When we walked in our waitress volunteered to do our table," he admitted. Needless to say, that did not make me feel any better. I groaned. "Hey, you know what?" He asked me.

I looked at him expectantly. "What?"

"Blonde's really aren't my type," he told me trying to make me feel better.

"Oh really? What's your type?" I asked him.

"You are. You are my type," he told me with a grin.


	29. Chapter 29

***Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy, Richelle Mead does!***

"_You are. You are my type," he told me with a grin._

Chapter 29

The waitress came back with our food. Thank god. He had ordered me a normal burger. When I bit into I smiled as I realized it was a bacon cheeseburger. Dimitri knew me so well. He even gave me some of his fish. I wasn't going to try it, but he insisted that I would like it. I have to admit it was pretty good.

We ate our food quickly; both excited to get to Dimitri's home. When we were finished, the waitress came back over. "Is there anything else I can get you," she asked Dimitri. I heard the double meaning in her words. I scowled at her, but she didn't see me, because she was too busy flirting with Dimitri.

"Actually," I said to her. "My _fiancé_ and I would like dessert." I told her with authority.

Dimitri tried to hold back his laugh. I suddenly realized I didn't know any of the desserts because they were sure to have Russian names. Dimitri saved the day and ordered.

"I think you're getting a little too much enjoyment out of that b…" I cut myself off, thinking of the baby.

Dimitri shot me a look that said he knew exactly what I was about to stay. "I can't help what she does," he reminded me.

The waitress came back with our desserts. Warm apple pie with a giant scoop of vanilla ice cream on top and whipped cream. It was heaven. "Are you sure you don't want anything else?" The waitress asked Dimitri. Oh it's on bitch.

"No nothing else." She walked off, looking slightly disappointed, and returned with our check. He paid and when we were getting up, he grabbed my hand. Before we left, I pulled him towards me and kissed him lightly. He grinned at me knowing exactly what I was doing. I couldn't help but smile smugly at the waitress and wave goodbye to her. My gold ring glinted in her face as we walked out.

When we stepped outside the restaurant, my smile disappeared. A strange nausea hit me. It wasn't like the nausea I feel when I got sick during my pregnancy. I looked at Dimitri scared. "Dimitri something's wrong."

"Rose what is it?" He asked me concerned.

I just shook my head at him. I felt weird. Along with the nausea, I just had a gut feeling that something was wrong. Then I saw Mason. He was washed-out looking just like all the other times I saw him. He looked even more upset than usual, and had a look of deep concentration on his face. He was struggling to say something.

Without turning my head, I spoke to Dimitri. "Do you see him?" I asked him.

"See who?" Dimitri asked me confused.

"Mason."

"You're seeing him again," Dimitri asked me.

"Could you say that like you don't think I'm insane?" I asked him bitterly. I had all of my focus and attention on Mason.

"What is it?" I asked him annoyed.

He finally spoke. "They're here."

That's when someone stepped out right in front of us. I felt a shiver of fear go down my back. I looked around. We were surrounded.


	30. Chapter 30

***Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy, Richelle Mead does!***

_That's when someone stepped out right in front of us. I felt a shiver of fear go down my back. I looked around. We were surrounded._

Chapter 30

Red-ringed eyes bore into us. There were two of us and there were six of them. Dimitri and I pulled out our stakes in unison. Dimitri cast me a scared look. I knew his thoughts were where mine were: on the babies. Without waiting, I lunged at the lead one, trying to land a punch on him. He tried to kick me in my stomach, but I spun out of the way just in time. I realized how close I had come to being kicked in my stomach. I could have lost my babies just then. Red tinged my vision, and I fought with a fury the Strigoi weren't expecting. It was different than when I just fight for myself. Now I wasn't fighting for myself. I was fighting for the innocent children I was carrying and that made me dangerous.

I staked one Strigoi and turned to the next one. As I pulled out my stake I heard a muffled groan. I turned around and saw one Strigoi leap at Dimitri. He didn't see it coming, but I did, giving me just enough time to get in its way. I lunged into its side, pushing it off course. They turned to me and I didn't hesitate. I dodged their punch and scraped my stake across their shoulder. They howled in pain which gave me the opening I needed.

Dimitri finished off his Strigoi and then we turned to face out last threat. This Strigoi was ancient and even with both of us, it was hard to take her. I ducked under one of the Strigoi's punches and got behind her and shoved her forward. That gave Dimitri the opportunity to stake her. The fight had only lasted maybe twenty minutes, but I felt like I had been working for hours. The pregnancy thing really drains my energy.

I sat down panting. Dimitri was by my side in a second. "Roza are you alright?" He asked me, barely concealing the fear in his voice. I started crying at the realization of how close I had come to losing Dimitri and my babies. They were the most important things to me and I don't think I would be able to go on without them. Dimitri wrapped his arms around me. I leaned into his chest. I inhaled the scent the scent of his aftershave.

When I felt in control of my emotions, I told him, "I'm fine." Dimitri rolled his eyes at me. He sat by my side, rubbing soothing circles into my back. When I had calmed down and my breathing returned to normal, Dimitri pulled out his phone and called someone. I got up, ready to leave. "Roza, you should sit down."

I shook my head. "I can walk. I want to get going."

Dimitri looked at me sympathetically. "Rose… We can't leave yet," he admitted.

"Why not?" I asked him confused.

"Someone has to come clean up these bodies," he explained to me.

"Someone gets rid of Strigoi bodies?" I asked him confused.

He nodded at me. "Who?" I asked him.

A new voice spoke from the shadows. "The Alchemists."


	31. Chapter 31

***Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy, Richelle Mead does!***

_A new voice spoke from the shadows. "The Alchemists."_

Chapter 31

A girl stepped out from the shadows. I realized with surprise that she was about my age. She had a golden tattoo on her cheek. She pulled something out of her purse and walked over to the first Strigoi body. She poured something on it. To my surprise, it started smoking and in a couple of seconds, it was gone. I looked back up at the girl. She didn't look surprised. She looked almost bored.

"Who are the Alchemists?" I asked confused.

Now she looked at me surprised. "I thought all guardians were told about us," she said confused.

"They are, she is a new graduate so she hasn't been told about you yet," Dimitri explained.

"You just graduated and you helped take on six Strigoi?" She asked me surprised.

I nodded. "She killed three of them," Dimitri told her. The girl's look of surprise deepened.

"So what exactly are the Alchemists, uh…" I paused realizing I didn't know her name.

"Sydney," came another voice from the shadows. Abe Mazur stepped out of the shadows.

"What are you doing here old man?" I asked him annoyed.

Sydney looked at me confused. "You know Zmey?"

"Zmey?" I asked her.

She pointed towards Abe. "We… The Alchemists call him Zmey. It's like a serpent."

I looked back and forth between them, trying to clear my head. "What are you doing here?" I repeated.

"I do a lot of business in these parts," he said.

"That doesn't explain how you ended up outside a diner in the middle of nowhere at the exact moment we're here," I pointed out to him.

"I have business with the Alchemist," he said nodded toward Sydney.

"You always have business with me," Sydney said grumpily. "Wait how do you two know each other?"

"Sydney, meet my beautiful daughter," Abe said to her.

Sydney's jaw dropped. "I could see how you killed three Strigoi now," she muttered to herself.

Abe's eyes narrowed. "You took on Strigoi?" He asked angrily.

"What else was I supposed to do? Let them kill me?" I replied equally angry.

"You're supposed to let Belikov take them on. You shouldn't be fighting Strigoi when you're pregnant!"

"We were outnumbered! Dimitri killed three as well!" I pointed out.

I could see Abe still wasn't happy, but luckily then Sydney finished destroying the Strigoi. She and Abe walked into the diner and me and Dimitri got into his rental car and headed toward his home.

"Are you sure you're okay Rose?" He asked me.

I grinned at him and nodded. "I really am. I'll admit I'm a little tired, but I didn't take any serious hits." I told him.

He grinned in relief and we spent the rest of the car ride in a comfortable silence. When we got to Dimitri's house, only Olena was awake. She hugged us both then led us to Dimitri's old room which we would be sharing.

I stepped inside and took one look at the bed then looked back at Dimitri. The hungry look in his face mirrored mine as he closed the door behind him.


	32. Chapter 32

***Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy, Richelle Mead does!***

_I stepped inside and took one look at the bed then looked back at Dimitri. The hungry look in his face mirrored mine as he closed the door behind him._

Chapter 32

I woke up and turned to face Dimitri. He was already awake, studying me as I slept. I smile crept over his face when he was I was awake.

"Good morning Sleeping Beauty," he said grinning at me. "I was just about to wake you up. Breakfast is ready."

My stomach growled as I got out of bed. "Great! I'm starving," I told him. My stomach growled again to emphasis my point. He laughed and led me to the kitchen.

I took the seat next to his. Olena put a giant plate of really thin pancakes that they called blini. "Did you sleep well last night?" She asked me kindly.

"Yes, thank you," I told her grinning.

"I'm surprised either of you got any sleep," Karolina said.

Dimitri and I both turned bright red. "What do you mean?" I asked her innocently

She looked up at me surprised. "I know Zoya was up crying half the night," she explained.

I silently breathed a sigh of relief. Viktoria burst out laughing. I did my best not to look at her. "Oh… Uh… We didn't even hear her," I told her.

"Of course you didn't," Viktoria said in between her bursts of laughter. I could feel heat flooding to my cheeks as I tried to ignore her. It surprised me when Dimitri didn't do the same.

"Vika," Dimitri said as a warning. I assumed Vika was Viktoria's nickname in Russian.

"Oh Dimka, you know you don't scare me,' she teased.

He play growled at her and she rolled her eyes. "Is that anyway to treat your favorite sister?" She asked jokingly.

"You mean my most annoying sister," he joked.

I watched the siblings banter back and forth, a happy feeling spreading over me. I never had siblings and the way they had welcomed me into their family, I already felt as though they were my sisters.

It was also clear that Dimitri loved his family. I have never seen him so happy. When we had finished eating, me and Dimitri offered to do the dishes. He practically kicked his mother out of the kitchen to get her to stop trying to help. Of course the moment she was gone, he made me sit down afraid that I would over exert myself.

"You know Comrade, I'm noticing a double standard here," I pointed out to him.

"Huh?" he asked.

"Yeah. You won't let me help with the dishes, but we can do something that requires much more energy…" I trailed off, thinking of last night.

He looked at me confused. "Are you saying you don't want to have sex with me anymore?" He asked confused.

"No!" I almost shouted. Dimitri tried to hide his smile unsuccessfully. "I'm just saying you should let me help you with the dishes."

"I don't know. I think you should sit down and rest. I obviously exhausted you last night," he told me mockingly.

I stuck my tongue out at him. At least I got to see him in an apron.


	33. Chapter 33

***Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy, Richelle Mead does!***

Chapter 33

Our week in Siberia flew by and before I knew it we were on the plane back to Pennsylvania. I had so much fun with Dimitri's family. His sisters told me stories about Dimitri from when he was younger. It was hilarious. While I was sad to leave, I was excited to go home. We still had to finishing buying stuff for our home.

When we got off the plane, Lissa was waiting for us with Christian. She ran over to me and threw her arms around me. I sighed when I realized I was just as big as her even though she was due almost a month before me. Of course she would be hiding her pregnancy well.

When we got to their car, she was grinning at me and I realized through the bond that she had news to tell us. "What's up Liss?" I asked her.

She squealed. "We're having a girl!" She yelled happily.

"Oh my gosh Liss! That's great!" I told her, giving her a big hug before I entered the car.

"Christian's not happy about it," Lissa admitted. I looked at Christian's sour expression.

"Why not?" I asked curiously.

Lissa rolled her eyes. "Because he's paranoid."

"I'm not paranoid." Christian replied.

"You bought a lock for her window!" Lissa pointed out.

"No boy is going to be able to climb through her window," Christian replied smugly.

"Hey Christian one problem with that," I said.

"Oh and what's that?" He asked.

"If she wants said boy to sneak in her window she can just open it for them," I pointed out. I laughed at the pained expression that came across his face.

Christian ignored me for the rest of the car ride. When Dimitri and I got home, we found a surprise waiting for us. Our bed was here. Dimitri grinned. "No more sleeping on the floor, huh?" He asked me.

I grinned back at him. "It will be nice to sleep in a bed big enough for the both of us," I teased. His bed in Siberia was small, barely big enough to hold both of us. It didn't help that Dimitri is a giant and I'm pregnant. Not that I minded the lack of space, but I like to spread out when I'm asleep.

"It's not my fault that you like to hog the bed," Dimitri said lifting his head up with a dignified expression.

"No, but it's your fault you take up three quarters of the bed," I muttered under my breath.

"Actually that's genetics," he pointed out. "And I am not that big."

I rolled my eyes at him. "You're not big, your giant!" I teased.

"Fee Fie Foe Fum," he said in a deep voice. He stood up and slowly came closer to me.

"You wouldn't."

"Oh I would." That's when he lunged for me.

I ran out of the way, before he could catch me. I ran out of our bedroom, closing the door behind me. I was at the end of the hallway when he caught up with me. We wrapped his arms around me and held me close to him.

We were both laughing. "Okay you caught me. What are you going to do now?" I asked him.

"I have a couple of ideas," he said winking at me.


	34. Chapter 34

***Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy, Richelle Mead does!***

Chapter 34

I woke up really early, and at first I couldn't figure out why. Then I realized today is the day. We have a doctor's appointment today and I'm finally far enough along to find out what sex my babies are. I don't know how I'm going to wait four more months. I'm huge!

I rolled over to face Dimitri and saw he was still asleep. He didn't get back until almost eight in the morning, human time. I may not have to work right now because I am on maternity leave, but Dimitri is busy working long shifts.

Dimitri asked to be reassigned, so he isn't Lissa's guardian. He's a Court guardian so he's pretty much doing to the same thing he did at the Academy. I feel bad because I know he would prefer guarding a specific Moroi, but he insists that this is perfect. Aside from times like last night when he is covering other people's shifts, he works regular hours. It will be really convenient went the baby comes. He'll get to spend more time with our kids. I am going to be Lissa's guardian after I get back in shape after the babies come, but Lissa promised me that she would figure it out so I will be working approximately the same hours as Dimitri. Aside from when Lissa goes on trips and stuff, I will be as available as Dimitri.

He looked so peaceful, laying there with his mouth open a little bit. His light brown hair was messy and fell in streaks down in face. I hated to wake him up, but my stomach growled. I knew if I shook him awake he would literally jump out of bed and grab his stake. I learned that the first time I ever tried to wake him up. I leaned over to him and kissed him lightly. His eyes immediately flew open, but I could see he was still exhausted.

"Why did you wake me up?" He asked me curiously.

"I'm hungry," I answered.

"Go make yourself some breakfast," he suggested.

"I thought you liked the kitchen," I said looking at him like he had three heads.

"I do. What does that have to do with anything?" He asked me.

"Do you remember the last time I made pancakes?" I asked him. I could tell from the face he made that he did. It was a couple of days after we got back from Siberia. Dimitri trusted me to make pancakes. I didn't know you had to flip the pancakes and one of them caught on fire. It's a good thing Dimitri was there to put it out or we might not have a kitchen right now. "But you know what? You're right. I'll go make breakfast. I hope you're hungry." I told him. I wasn't really planning on cooking breakfast, but I'm pretty sure he was going to stop me.

I got up and took about three steps before he woke up enough to realize what my words meant. A look of fear and horror came across his face. "No! I'll cook," he told me.

He jumped out of bed in nothing but his pajama pants. I followed him to the kitchen, secretly thrilled that he forgot to put on a shirt in his haste.

He quickly made the pancake batter and I ran to his side to watch them cook. I heard him leave the kitchen. I never heard him come back in.


	35. Chapter 35

***Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy, Richelle Mead does!***

_He quickly made the pancake batter and I ran to his side to watch them cook. I heard him leave the kitchen. I never heard him come back in._

Chapter 35

All of a sudden, he smeared pancake batter on my nose. He came back into the kitchen so quietly I didn't even hear him. While he flipped the pancakes, I took a big scoopful of batter and threw it at him. It splattered over his chest and neck, some of it splattering over his face.

He looked down briefly surprised then a mischievous smile flitted across his face. "Oh Roza, big mistake. I need a hug," he told me opening his arms to hug me. I dodged him at first, but I wasn't as fast as him, especially when carrying twins. He easily caught me effectively getting pancake goop all over my chest and in my hair.

He kissed my forehead and let me go to take the pancakes off the stove. He put on a few more, not expecting retaliation. What he didn't realize is he got it in my hair. That meant war. I scooped up a little more. With his back to me, I went up on my tippy toes and ran my hand through his hair. He stiffened then turned around. His eyes were twinkling. He put half of the remaining batter in a different bowl then put it too high up for me to reach. Then he scooped up a handful and threw it at me. When he wasn't looking, I took another handful. Then I kneeled down, pretending to have stomach pains.

"What's wrong? Is there something wrong with the babies?" He asked me concerned.

"Ha!" I shouted jumping up throwing the batter in his face.

I don't know how, but he managed to make the pancakes while our pancake war was going on. I have a truly talented fiancé. I realized that the batter he put up high was specifically for the pancakes he was making. He didn't use it even when I seized the bowl that we were using for recreational purposes.

When the pancakes were finally done, both of us were covered in pancake batter. As we ate we bantered back and forth. "I definitely won Comrade. You have more batter on you," I pointed out to him.

"But I'm a bigger person. If we go by proportions…" He began.

"Then I still win, because I am huge," I interrupted pointing as my swollen stomach.

As we finished eating he sighed. "Let's figure this out fair and square. First person to the shower won the war.

"How is that fair and square? I'm not allowed to run and I can't move that fast because my feet are swollen and then hurt. If you were really a gentleman, you wouldn't flaunt the fact that my pregnancy has crippled me," I said trying to sound dignified.

"Fair enough," he agreed. He came over to me and scooped me up bridal style and carried me to the bedroom. He gently put me down then walked into the bathroom.

"I call the first shower," I said before he got to the bathroom.

"Too late," he said grinning at me. He shut the door as I ran towards it. I checked the knob. He didn't lock it.

I opened the bathroom door. "Did you really think that would stop me Comrade?" I asked him jokingly. "Now get out. I have to get ready for a doctor's appointment."


	36. Chapter 36

***Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy, Richelle Mead does!***

_I opened the bathroom door. "Did you really think that would stop me Comrade?" I asked him jokingly. "Now get out. I have to get ready for a doctor's appointment."_

Chapter 36

We sat in our car after the doctor's appointment. I could see Dimitri was alternating between being happy to looking torn. He wanted two boys, but that's not what he's getting. He's thrilled about the babies, but he's not happy we're having a girl. He's already over protective of her and she hasn't even been born yet. He's extremely excited about the boy. He's already planning 'guy stuff' like hunting ,sports, and westerns. I am secretly wondering how I could save my baby from his wrath.

I am overjoyed. I wanted one of each. I can't keep the grin off my face. Dimitri was driving us to Lissa. I know Liss would chew my head off if I wait to tell her what we're having, especially with her mood swings. We went out to dinner a few nights ago and she broke down when the waiter asked her if she wanted dessert. She insisted he was trying to call her fat. She's not big by any standards, not nearly as big as I am, but she's used to her slender form that's common for Moroi. We quickly decided to avoid anything that will cause another break down. I know Dimitri's waiting for it to happen to me. Personally, I hope I just skip over the mood swings.

Finally we arrived at Lissa and Christian's apartment. Dimitri helped me out of the car despite my protests. He knocked lightly on the front door and waited patiently for them to come. Me, not so patient. After waiting about thirty seconds, I started to bang on the door. Dimitri put his arms around me to restrain my arms.

Christian opened the door looking disheveled and tired. "Lissa here?" I asked him, walking in. Dimitri waited for him to invite him in before entering the house.

"Yeah, she's upstairs. I'll go get her," Christian said.

"No need. LISS!" I shouted.

"Rose?" Lissa asked.

"Who else would it be?" I asked.

She appeared in the hallway. "What's the verdict," she asked me motioning towards my stomach.

Dimitri groaned. "We're having a girl," he told her. Christian looked at him sympathetically.

Lissa looked at us confused. "I thought you were having twins. Actually I know you we're having twins. You bought two cribs." She pointed out.

"Yeah, but Dimitri's not upset about the boy. He's just freakishly worried about the girl." I explained.

"Well if she turns out anything like her mother, I have every right to be worried," Dimitri teased me.

"And you don't think I'm worried? What if one of them inherits your weird cowboy obsession?" I said jokingly.

"I don't have a weird cowboy obsession," Dimitri said trying to look hurt.

"Should we leave?" Christian asked jokingly. I realized me and Dimitri had been getting closer to one another as we argued without even realizing it. Now we were face to face.

I took a step back. I made a face at Christian.

"Oh, so Rose I hope you don't have plans tonight," Lissa said excitedly.

I looked up at her confused. "I don't think we have plans," I glanced at Dimitri to confirm. He shook his head to indicate we didn't have anything going on.

Lissa squealed with delight. "Great! Because we're having a girl's night out!"


	37. Chapter 37

***Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy, Richelle Mead does!***

_Lissa squealed with delight. "Great! Because we're having a girl's night out!"_

Chapter 37

Lissa, Mia, and I were sitting in Lissa's room. Dimitri had agreed to go out with Christian so that we could have our girl's night. We were actually going to go out, but Christian and Dimitri were afraid that we would overexert ourselves. So we ended up sitting on the floor in Lissa's room eating our weight in pizza and talking.

Lissa got the idea that we should prank call some of the rooms at Court. Mia volunteered to go first.

We got out the royal inventory. Mia decided to call Jesse Zeklos's house. I started to object, because I want to hear Jesse's annoying voice as much as I want to see him.

"Don't worry. I bet Jesse isn't even there. He's probably partying with some royals. I really just want to get ahold of one of his parents," Mia told me.

Mia called the number. A deep voice answered. "Daniel Zeklos speaking."

"Is… Is Je… Jesse there?" Mia sobbed into the phone.

"I'm sorry. He's out at a party." Mia shot me a smug look. "May I ask who's calling?"

"I'm… Just someone he… he met at a pa… party. I have to talk to him," Mia cried into the phone.

"Is everything alright?"

"I got my pre… pregnancy results back. I need to talk to Jesse."

Me and Liss had to shove our hands over our mouths to hold back our laughter.

"YOU'RE WHAT? ARE YOU TRYING TO TELL ME THAT MY SON GOT YOU PREGNANT?" I'm pretty sure we would have been able to hear his response even if he hadn't been on speakerphone.

"Tell Je… Jesse to call me," Mia cried into the phone. Then she hung up. We all burst out laughing.

"Okay. That was pretty good," I admitted.

"Pretty good? That was amazing. I would like to see you do better," Mia challenged.

"Alright I will," I told her.

I picked a random number in the phone book, not even looking to see who it was.

"Hello," said a female voice on the other line.

Putting on a thick Italian accent I said, "'Ello. Somebody order a pizza pie ya?"

"Pizza? I most certainly did not order a pizza."

"Ya. Fifty pizza pie to you, ya?" I asked.

"Fifty pizzas? Are you crazy?"

"No. Fifty pizza. You crazy ya?"

"I am her royal highness Queen Tatiana. I am not crazy." The voice on the other line yelled.

My jaw dropped and I hung up the phone.

"You. Just. Prank. Called. The. Queen." Lissa said between bursts of laughter.

"I am so dead if Tatiana ever figures out that was me. So dead," I said panicked.

"Relax. She has no way of finding out it was you. I blocked our number before I handed you the phone so no call we make tonight can be traced back to us," Mia reassured me. "I can't believe you prank called the queen. Didn't you check to see who it was?" She said laughing.

"Obviously not," I pointed out to her.

Then the front door opened and Christian and Dimitri walked in.

"What did you ladies do tonight?" Christian asked as he walked to Lissa's side. He kissed her cheek.

I said, "Nothing." At the same time Lissa and Mia said in unison, "Rose prank called the queen."

Dimitri raised an eyebrow at me and Christian just looked shocked.

"As in Queen Tatiana?" Dimitri asked to clarify.

I looked down at the floor and nodded. Dimitri and Christian burst out laughing.

"I have a feeling I'm never going to live this down," I said with a sigh.


	38. Chapter 38

***Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy, Richelle Mead does!***

Chapter 38

About a month before I was due, I got a call around noon. Being the hormonal pregnant woman I am, I pushed Dimitri out of bed and made him do answer my phone.

He got up off the floor rubbing his head and answered it. He came back a few moments later, alert. "Rose wake up. Lissa went into labor," he told me. I was up in an instant. We both got dressed hastily.

I spent five minutes trying to find my shoe. Finally I just sat down on the bed. "I can't find my other shoe," I sobbed.

"I'll look for it," Dimitri offered.

Instantly I stopped crying. "Are you calling me incompetent?" I asked him angrily. I was at the stage in my pregnancy where my mood swings were pretty severe.

"Absolutely not," Dimitri reassured me.

Just like that, I was happy again. "Okay," I said with a grin.

Dimitri breathed a sigh of relief. I knew he couldn't wait for the babies to come just so my mood swings would stop. He quickly found my other shoe hiding under our bed.

We rushed to the hospital and joined Christian in the waiting room where he was pacing back and forth.

"Why aren't you in there with her?" I asked him confused.

"She's not quite there yet. They had to give her the epidural. They said they would call me in when she's ready to actually have the baby," he explained nervously.

As if on cue, one of the doctors walked into the waiting room. "Christian Ozera?" They called.

Christian walked towards the doctor. "Follow me."

Christian walked out leaving me and Dimitri in the waiting room.

Lissa going into labor made my pregnancy seem more real. It scared me. I'm going to be a mother soon. I fought to hold back my tears.

Dimitri pulled me into his embrace. I buried my face in his shoulder. "What's wrong Roza?"

"I just realized that I'm going to be a mother really soon. And… I'm scared," I admitted into his shoulder.

He pulled back so he could look in my eyes. "What are you scared about?" He asked me seriously.

"What if I'm not a good mother?" I asked him nervously.

"Roza. You won't be a good mother. You'll be a great mother," he told me.

"How can you know?" I asked him uncertainly.

"Because of your compassion and your love. You are going to be the best mother our children could ever hope for, because you want to be the best mother. I've already seen how you've changed your lifestyle for them. You ate broccoli the other day. If that's not love I don't know what is," he told me. I laughed, and immediately felt cheered by his statement.

I spent the rest of our wait leaning into Dimitri's chest. After what felt like an eternity, Christian came back into the waiting room. He motioned for us to follow him. He led us into Lissa's hospital room.

Lissa was sitting up on her bed holding a beautiful baby girl. She had Christian's black hair. It creeped out from under her little hat. She had Lissa's jade green eyes. She was fast asleep in Lissa's arms. When we walked in, Lissa smiled at us.

"What's her name?" I asked Lissa.

"Danya Rose Ozera. It means gift from God." She said grinning at me. "Will you be the godmother?"

I almost burst into tears at her request. As it was a few slipped out. "Of course," I promised.


	39. Chapter 39

***Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy, Richelle Mead does!***

Chapter 39

Two weeks after Lissa had her baby, I was in my house, cleaning it up as a surprise to Dimitri. I knew he would also be a little upset that I was on my feet so much, but I was getting restless just sitting around. I had cleaned up the kitchen, putting all the dishes away neatly. I even put flowers in a vase on the table.

Next, I started working on our bedroom. I made the bed and put away all our clothes. I packed a few more things in the baby bag we had ready to go in the hallway for when I go into labor. I had just finished vacuuming our room when I heard a knock on the door. I went to the door to check but no one was there. When I stepped outside, I felt a wave of nausea. I tried to remember where I had felt it before. Then I remembered. In Russia when we were surrounded by Strigoi. It was pitch black out, but I scoured every inch trying to find something out of the ordinary. It was too dark and too shadowy, but eventually I saw it. I pulled out my phone.

I sent a one word text to Dimitri. _Strigoi_.

I braced myself, trying to prepare myself for their attack. The problem is I'm over eight months pregnant. I don't have the speed, strength, or energy to fight off Strigoi.

As if hearing my thoughts, a Strigoi stepped out in front of me. Some more stepped onto either side of me. There weren't as many Strigoi here as there had been in Russia. There were four now, but for my pregnant self, that was way too many. I could only pray that Dimitri had his phone with him and that he would get here before the Strigoi could hurt our babies.

The first Strigoi attacked me, but I dodged the attack. My moves were slow, but they were enough for now.

I had my stake in hand, wondering if I would be able to get close enough to stake one without harming my children. Our fight proceeded with me blocking and dodging. I scraped the Strigoi a few times with my stake, but never got close to its heart. I couldn't risk it.

Just as I knew I wasn't going to be able to fight much longer, he arrived. Déjà vu. I suddenly remembered when Natalie had cornered me in the prison where Victor Dashkov had been held. Just like he had then, Dimitri looked like death in a cowboy duster. Just like then, he came to my rescue.

Dimitri caught the Strigoi harassing me by surprise and easily staked him. He then stood in front of me protectively as the other Strigoi advanced. I could tell that two of the vampires were older, whereas one looked like they were recently made. The newer one was sloppy. Dimitri staked him after a couple of minutes, but the remaining two were putting up a pretty good fight.

He was getting a couple of hits on them, but they were getting even more on him. I wished I could do anything. I felt so helpless.

That's when my water broke. I screamed as the first contraction rippled through me.


	40. Chapter 40

***Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy, Richelle Mead does!***

_That's when my water broke. I screamed as the first contraction rippled through me._

Chapter 40

My scream distracted one of the Strigoi Dimitri was fighting, giving him the opportunity to stake her. Now there was only one Strigoi left. He may have been an older Strigoi, but he was no match for Dimitri's strength or fury. It only took Dimitri a couple of minutes to stake him.

Dimitri turned to me with concern in his eyes. "Can you stand?" He asked me uncertainly.

I shook my head. "No. I'm kind of concentrating on breathing right now." I told him.

He lifted me up bridal style and carried me to the car. He ran into the house and returned less than a minute later with our baby bag.

Dimitri sped the entire way to the hospital. I had two contraction in the ten minutes it took to get there. He picked me up again and carried me in, calling for a nurse.

I was led into an operating room. I clutched Dimitri's hand the whole time. I had four more contractions, then the nurse finally spoke to me. "On the next contraction, I'm going to need you to push," she told me.

I did as she said. Contraction after contraction. In between contraction, I made a mental note to apologize to Dimitri later. I don't even remember what I said, but I know I shouted some very mean things to Dimitri. He took it good-naturedly, understanding it wasn't really what I was thinking. Childbirth just hurts.

Finally, I heard a beautiful sound. A baby crying. I squeezed Dimitri's hand, trying to crane over to see the baby. "You still have another baby in there. I need you to focus," the nurse told me.

I did my best to concentrate and was awarded about ten minutes later with another screaming baby. It was music to my ears. I feeling of euphoria washed over me.

"Do you want to hold your baby," the nurse asked me. I nodded and she handed me the baby boy. He was wrapped in a blue blanket. She handed the baby girl, wrapped in pink how stereotypical, to Dimitri and he absolutely melted at the sight of her. The nurse left the room.

I remembered the time, oh so long ago; when Tasha told Dimitri he would probably do baby talk in Russian. She was half right. Dimitri talked to our daughter in a strange mix of Russian and English. It was pretty amusing.

The nurse returned. "You have visitors," she told me. I nodded to her, unable to take my eyes off my baby. He was asleep in my arms and he looked so peaceful. Unlike his sister who had hair poking out from under her hat, he was completely bald. His eyelashes were long and thick. He was the most precious baby boy in the world.

Lissa and Christian stepped into my room then. I grinned up at her and she grinned back. "Sorry we took so long. We had to call Mia in to watch Danya."

"How is little Danny?" I asked her, using the nickname I gave her.

Lissa grinned. "Loud." Christian nodded in agreement.

I looked at Lissa. "Do you want to hold him?"

Lissa's eyes went wide as she nodded. I handed her our little boy.

She cuddled him close to her. "What's his name?" She asked.

Dimitri and I looked at one another. "Ivan," we said at the same time.

I looked towards the girl in Dimitri's arms. "She's Catherine, but we'll call her Katya," I said using her Russian nickname.

"Katya and Ivan Belikov," I said happily.


	41. Chapter 41

***Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy, Richelle Mead does!***

Chapter 41

It's not easy having two babies in the house. When one wakes up crying, the other follows soon after. I don't know how Dimitri wakes up and goes to work in the morning. He barely sleeps at night. At least I get naps when Ivan and Katya are sleeping. He doesn't get that.

Two months after we brought the babies home, I woke up in Dimitri's arms fully rested. I realized with a start that this was the first time our children slept through the night. I ran to the nursery to make sure they hadn't been kidnapped. I saw each of them in their cribs, still fast asleep.

I went back to the bedroom where Dimitri was still asleep. I grinned at his sleeping form. I decided to give him a few more minutes. I went back to the nursery and saw that Katya had woken up. She hadn't started crying. She was staring transfixed at the cowboy mobile Dimitri had bought a while ago. I picked her up and cuddled her close to me. She was getting so big. She was bigger than Ivan already, but we had researched it and found out that it was normal for girls to grow faster at this age. I just hope she didn't inherit her father's height.

She started to fidget a little in my arms so I went and sat in the rocking chair. I rocked back and forth, gently singing to her. She stopped fidgeting and stared at me happily. Dimitri walked into the nursery and took Katya from me. I could get her to stop fidgeting with some hard work, but she was already Daddy's little girl. Ivan like me better, so we were even.

As if on cue, I heard whimpering coming from Ivan's crib. He lifted his arms up a little bit and I picked him up. He immediately snuggled into my arms and fell back asleep. I was such a pushover that I let this happen… a lot. I didn't care though. When Dimitri holds him, Ivan screams like he's being kidnapped. Dimitri can't calm him down no matter what he tries. Dimitri has experimented with several things, but it seems like I'm the only one who can calm Ivan down. I know it frustrates him sometimes. I'm constantly reassuring him that Ivan will love him just as much as Katya when he's older. Mentioning Katya is always a good thing to do, because Dimitri melts at her name. He adores Katya. He loves Ivan just as much as he loves Katya, but Katya is his little girl.

I can see so much of Dimitri in Ivan. Ivan's hair is dark like mine, but he has Dimitri's features. We went out once about a week ago and attracted a lot of stares. Ivan and Katya were so clearly both of our children, but it didn't make sense to most people. Dhampirs couldn't have children with one another. We didn't find it necessary to explain to people how this happened, so we let them come up with their own reasons.

I went back to the rocking chair and sat down. I rocked Ivan back and forth and once he fell into a deeper sleep, I put him back into his crib. Dimitri did the same with Katya.

It's hard having two babies in the house, but together me and Dimitri can do anything.


	42. Chapter 42

***Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy, Richelle Mead does!***

Chapter 42

"Eeeeeeew cooties!" Ivan shouted happily, running away

"I do not have cooties!" Danny insisted, chasing after him.

I sighed to myself. It is very difficult to get three year olds into suits and dresses. I glanced enviously towards Dimitri who had Katya on his knee. She's such a good little girl. He had no problem getting her into her dress. He looked back at me smugly, looking perfect in his tuxedo. I was in shorts and a t-shirt. My make-up was done and my hair was in a fancy style that had half my hair in a bun with the rest falling down my back in curls. Lissa had given me the job of getting our two devils into their wedding outfits before I get into my dress. I chased after Ivan and scooped him up and he immediately started fidgeting to be put down.

"Auntie Lissa will not be happy with you if you mess up another suit," I reminded him. He immediately stopped fidgeting. I grabbed Danny's hand and she calmed down a little too. I fixed her dress where it had ridden up a little while she was running. Lissa finally appeared. She shooed Dimitri out of the room. I handed Ivan to Dimitri. Mia came in to look after Katya and Danny. She was going to remind them one more time what their duties as my flower girls was.

Lissa helped me step into my dress and I couldn't believe it. I was finally getting married. This day was finally here. I have waited four years to marry the man I love. She touched up my make-up a little bit, and added a comb to my hair. It had a pattern of small roses on it and it looked amazing right behind the bun. My mom stopped in holding Johnny, Lissa's eight month old son.

"Oh Rose, you look beautiful," she said starting to cry. We hugged briefly and then Lissa kicked her out.

Abe walked into the room, and I knew it was time to go. Mia sent the two girls down the aisle. They absolutely loved throwing flowers, and I knew they would do their jobs well. Next, Ivan walked down the aisle with the little cushion that held our rings. Then it was Mia's turn. Mia was one of my bridesmaids. She walked down the aisle with Mikhail, Dimitri's best friend from work and one of his groomsmen. Then Lissa, my maid of honor, walked down the aisle with Christian, Dimitri's best man. Then it was my turn. I gripped Abe's arm tighter as I turned around the corner and saw the church for the first time.

My focus was entirely on the man with the light brown hair and chocolate brown eyes. His eyes were locked on mine. They were filled with love. I was faintly aware of Abe putting my hand in Dimitri's. We turned to face the priest and his words flew by in a blur. Before I knew what was happening, I was saying I do. Dimitri put the ring on my finger.

His "I do," repeated inside my head over and over again. Somehow this amazing man before me was mine as I was his.

"I now pronounce you husband and wife," the priest declared.

I was barely aware of the cheers as Dimitri pulled me towards him for the kiss.

As we broke apart and I looked into his eyes. Ivan and Katya ran up to us. I scooped up Ivan and he picked up Katya. We stood there as a family. One of the lines in our vows came back to me. "From this day forward and forever." I was looking forward to spending forever with Dimitri.


	43. Epilogue

***Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy, Richelle Mead does!***

Epilogue

Ivan, Katya, four of Lissa's kids, and Irena, my seven year old daughter were splashing around in the pool. Danny, Johnny, Kioka, and Kris were Lissa's kids.

Lissa sat in chairs a little away from the pool with Christian, holding their two year old daughter, Cate. Lissa was pregnant again, and she was due in a few weeks. She did always say she wanted a big family, and she was doing a very good job of repopulating the Dragomir line.

I watched the kids splash around in the pool and I grinned. They were all home from St. Vladimir's for the summer and this was a little end of the year party.

Dimitri came out with a tray of sandwiches. "Lunch time!" he called loudly. All the kids jumped out of the pool, but I was ready for them. I gave them all towels as we crowded around the large picnic table in our backyard.

Dimitri handed a sandwich to everyone, giving two to me. He knew me well. As we ate, Danny and Ivan bantered back and forth in a flirtatious way. Their attraction was obvious to everyone, except them. Ivan and Danny were the best of friends and we were all just waiting for them to fall in love. I was almost dreading their teenage years when they would realize their feelings for one another. I don't think I will ever be ready for that, but I'm more ready than Dimitri. He turns very pale at the mention of any of our children dating.

"Can I have another sandwich Daddy?" Katya asked him.

"Of course, Katya," Dimitri told her fondly, passing her another sandwich. She was Daddy's little girl through and through.

"Daddy, can we watch Rio Bravo tonight? Please?" Katya pleaded as she stood up. She inherited Dimitri's love of westerns.

"You're so weird," Ivan told her, also standing up. He inherited my love to tease Dimitri and Katya for liking westerns.

"Am not," she said pretending to cry.

Dimitri to the rescue. "Ivan, that wasn't nice. Apologize to your sister," Dimitri ordered.

Ivan dropped his head. "Even though it's true, I'm sorry."

It took all of my self-control not to laugh at his apology. I saw Dimitri struggling to remain composed as well.

Katya gave Ivan a mischievous grin and pushed him into the pool. Irena then pushed Katya in and jumped in herself. Of all my children, Irena is without a doubt the biggest trouble maker.

Lissa's four kids immediately jumped into the pool. "You're supposed to wait thirty… Oh whatever they're not going to listen to me anyway," Lissa said with a grin. I helped Dimitri clean up the remains from lunch. Once we had finished cleaning up, I went to stand outside our screen door. Dimitri came up behind me, wrapping his arms around me and resting his head on my shoulder. I put my hands over his, and turned my head slightly so I could see him. I saw my happiness mirrored in his eyes.

He kissed my cheek. "I love you Roza," he told me.

"I love you too, Comrade," I told him. I turned my head and pulled him into a deep kiss.


End file.
